SEB to launch yet another development programme for fintech companies

05.08.2019 - 15:00

SEB, in cooperation with Mastercard and NFT Ventures, will launch the Lighthouse programme designed for promising Baltic fintech companies so that they could further develop their products and foster cooperation with banks and investors. The third Lighthouse programme is to be conducted in SEB Latvia, Riga. Interested companies can participate in the programme for free, but they have to submit their application before 12 August.

Within the framework of the programme, companies are given an opportunity to cooperate with banking experts, investors, and representatives of Mastercard to find possibilities for cooperation in the future. 73% of the participants of the project’s previous round have begun their cooperation with Mastercard and banks or have continued to work with each other.

SEB’s Innovation Manager Siim Lepisk: ‘The programme is popular among companies because it helps to facilitate their growth. Lighthouse assists Baltic fintech companies in bringing together clients, partners, and financing faster. The winner of the Tallinn round, for example, is already planning to have a number of meetings with top managers of banks and investors from Denmark and Norway this summer, as well as making preparations to participate in one of the most important fintech events, Money 2020 in Amsterdam.’

‘Winners of the third round are given stage time at Slush, one of the leading start-up and technology conferences in Europe, which this year is held on 21 November in Helsinki. Every year, this event brings together more than 20,000 experts. The winner of the Slush conference receives a sponsored invitation to the Mastercard Start Path pitch day in New York,’ added Siim Lepisk.

The third Lighthouse programme welcomes in particular companies focused on the following current topics in the financial sector:

Security: authentication, client identity, fraud prevention;
Inclusion: micro-entrepreneur solutions, financial inclusion;
Efficiency: banking as a service, artificial intelligence, digitalisation;
Experience: merchant solutions, credit acceptance, Internet of Things (IoT), payments using bracelets/watches (wearables), augmented reality (AR);
Engagement: data analytics, loyalty, reimbursement;
Payments: cross-border payments, B2B, payment supervision solutions.

A presentation of the Lighthouse programme for the interested companies will be held on Thursday, 8 August from 9.00 to 10.30 a.m. at the SEB Innovation Centre in Riga. Representatives of SEB Bank, participants of the previous programme rounds, and experts from the venture capital fund NFT Ventures will attend the event.

Companies can submit their application before 12 August by filling in the form at https://www.mclighthouse.com/apply-now.
Please find further information at https://www.mclighthouse.com.

The Lighthouse programme was initially launched in autumn 2018 in three regions, one of which was in the Baltic countries and two in Scandinavian countries. The first round was held in Vilnius, Stockholm, and Helsinki, the second round in Tallinn, Copenhagen, and Oslo. In each of the regions, five fintech companies were selected to take part in the programme. Lithuanian company Ondato that helps businesses to summarise data stipulated by law was announced the Baltic winner in the first round. The Estonian company Wallester that offers issue of cards as a service for businesses was declared the winner of the second round.