Fusion, a Swiss Fintech Accelerator launched in February that seeks to boost promising fintech startups, as well as fostering the local fintech industry, has selected ten startups to join its fintech accelerator’s first class.
Created by Swiss venture capital firm Polytech Ventures in collaboration with Temenos, a leading banking technology provider, Fusion is the very first program of its kind in Switzerland.
Yesterday, the company has announced the ten startups it had chosen to integrate its Swiss Fintech Accelerator program among over a hundred applications from 37 countries.
The ten startups selected come from seven different countries and tackle industries that include blockchain technology, insurance, crowdfunding, payment, wealth management, rick management and cyber-security.
“We have been able to select 10 really exciting start-ups from all over the world to bring to Geneva next month,” Guillaume Dubray, partner at Polytech Ventures, said in a release. “And we have been able to choose start-ups in areas where Switzerland is a world leader, such as asset management, data privacy and risk management.”
Switzerland’s position as a global hub for financial services as well as its renowned position as an innovation center, provides the best environment for financial technology startups, the company said.
Many US startups have relocated to Switzerland, notably for its friendlier regulatory landscape, a trend that Sébastien Flury, Fintech Fusion’s program director, believes will accelerate.
“This is because while Switzerland does not have bank secrecy anymore, it has a strong asset in user privacy,” Flury told CoinTelegraph. “Many U.S. startups are seriously considering this fact.”
Moreover, financial services, which represent 15% of Switzerland’s GDP, employ about 6% of the country’s workforce, a workforce that is obviously “well educated,” Flury said.
He continued:
“Couple this with the seriousness of Swiss people when it comes to work ethics and credibility.
“Furthermore, banks and insurance companies are waking up. Fintech and innovation are words they now understand. So there are a lot of things that will happen in the coming years that make Switzerland the place to be for a fintech enterprise.”
The ten startups that are integrating the Fusion fintech accelerator program are:
AceBanker: an algorithmic-based wealth manager;
BIOWATCH: a wearable wrist veins biometric reader for secure wireless authentication;
DXMarkets: a platform for professional traders to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets;
Edge Laboratories: a risk and portfolio intelligence web platform for investing, advising and reporting;
eINS: a web-based IS for insurance companies comprising all aspects of the insurance process;
Fundrs: an online payment platform for bitcoin;
KY3C: a big data and predictive analytics software solution for banks and financial institutions;
Investivity: a digital investment management company;
Scanye: an intelligent software available online and on mobile;
Wecan.Fund: a Pan-European peer-to-peer loans platform for SMEs.
These companies will receive mentorship from top executives from leading tech and financial services firms and will have the opportunity to meet and network with prominent industry figures starting from October 5.
