List of Fintech Startup Accelerators and Incubators in Europe
Accelerator Frankfurt’s unique go-to-market program accelerates B2B software startups in the fields of fintech, regtech, cybersecurity, insurtech, proptech and blockchain. The startups receive mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and investors, consulting and professional services, in addition to a co-working space.
The goal of the program is to help startups win customers and raise funding.
The 3-month program ends with a demo-day, where the startups pitch to corporates to secure proofs of concept and investors to raise follow-up funding.
Barclays London Accelerator, powered by Techstars
The Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, is a unique program designed to take selected fintech-focused businesses further.
The London accelerator provides a unique opportunity to get entrepreneurs’ hands on the best advice, support and tools to build their fintech business.
For 13 intensive weeks, the successful candidates work alongside each other to develop their solutions, culminating in the Barclays Accelerator Demo Day, where the companies pitch to top-tier investors from around the globe.
Unique to Barclays, the chosen few work full-time at Rise London, Europe’s largest workspace dedicated to fintech. They automatically get to be part of Rise’s global community, gaining access to a variety of fintech workshops and events, and Barclays Eagle Labs’ makers lab where they can even build prototypes of their product.
BNP Paribas – Plug and Play is a 12-week program in which selected startups receive free co-working space in the heart of Paris, access to key events, and major corporate dealflow sessions.
Whether they are looking to pilot your product, scale their business, hire new talent, or secure a round of investment, BNP Paribas – Plug and Play provides the platform to make those goals a reality. This is the all-in-one startup ecosystem.
Blockchain and Fintech Accelerator
The Blockchain and Fintech Accelerator is a series of coordinated bootcamps around the world, in which the best startups get to negotiate partnerships with financial institutions in each of the locations. The Blockchain and Fintech Accelerator partners with financial institutions in each of the locations to bring startups closer to them, and for them to help in selecting the most relevant startups.
The Blockchain and Fintech Accelerator is looking for startups that are early enough to be adaptable with their offering with its partner financial institutions, and late enough that they already have a technology to offer (a product, an engine, some call it an MVP) and some contact with the market.
Copenhagen Fintech is an organization built on the vision of creating a Danish growth adventure within fintech. It aims to develop Copenhagen as one of the leading fintech hubs in the global financial services industry by supporting and catalyzing the next era of technology-led corporate and startup innovators.
Copenhagen Fintech provides stage specific programs for startups including the Incubation Program, the Global Scaleup Program, the Nordic Fast Track Program, and the Partnership Accelerator. It also offers a Mentor Program for its members, as well as Connect Programs focused on various areas including talent acquisition, legal advice, communication, and more.
Elevator Lab is a leading fintech partnership program powered by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI). Elevator Lab looks for innovative fintech solutions in order to jointly develop tomorrow’s banking business. Once selected for Elevator Lab, startups get the chance to scale their business across the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.
Tenity Fintech Incubator and Accelerator
Tenity ( formerly F10) is the leading collaboration space for fintech in Switzerland and Singapore, focusing on innovation in the finances industry for a better future. Tenity’s programs promote the successful growth of startups in the fintech, regtech, and insurtech industries. At the same time, Tenity gives its board of corporate members access to the latest ideas and prototypes.
Tenity is sponsored by SIX, the operator of Switzerland’s stock market and a powerful center of world-leading service providers in securities trading, securities transactions, financial information processing, and cashless payment transactions.
The organization’s excellent connections allow it to connect fresh startups with experienced corporate members and invest in today’s best ideas for a brighter future for the whole world.
Fintech Europe is an accelerator program launched in 2018 by TechQuartier and Plug and Play. Sourcing startups from across the world to participate in two batches per year (12-weeks each), the platform also offers corporate partners, some of the world’s leading players of the financial industry, to partner up with the most promising fintechs.
Fintech Europe is located in the epicenter of continental Europe’s financial sector, Frankfurt.
Fintech Foundation Incubator programme by Integrated Finance
The ‘Fintech Foundation’ offers emerging startups the support they need to take the next step in their growth journey. The incubator is designed to ensure more innovative Fintech businesses get to market and improve the provision of financial services globally. The unique programme operates for 12 weeks and is backed by leading Fintech partners and investors.
The Fintech Innovation Lab is a highly competitive 12-week program that helps early-to growth-stage startup companies refine and test their value proposition with the support of the world’s leading financial service firms.
The program culminates in a demo day where companies showcase their technology to financial service executives, investors and journalists.
Originally developed and launched in New York City by The Partnership Fund for New York and Accenture, the Fintech Innovation Lab now operates in the following areas: London, Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) and New York.
Fongit, the Fondation Genevoise pour l’Innovation Technologique, is Switzerland’s premier innovation incubator supporting deeptech startups in Geneva since 1991. The private, non-profit foundation, is supported by the state of Geneva.
Fongit’s integrated incubation supports startups by providing: fully operational offices and labs, administration and accounting, business coaching and access to finance.
Fongit’s Incubation Program is designed to support startups’ journey of transforming an idea or technology into a viable product, taking them to the first round of funding. The objective is to de-risk their project and raise their valuation as fast as possible by achieving smart value inflection points.
Fongit incubates for 3 years and its startups often interact with the team on a regular basis even after they have left the premises. It has incubated 50+ innovative startups in the fields of fintech, medtech, cleantech and IT.
Founders Factory runs programs to power the growth of startups it invests in. For each, Founders Factory works with them to craft a bespoke program, tailoring the support from its operations team.
Founders Factory was established to help early stage companies rapidly become viable and sustainable businesses. They have a blend of what early stage companies require: expedited pre-seed funding, agile technology development, lean acceleration and world class mentors.
Founders Factory currently has offices in London, Africa and Paris where it focus on sectors that include finance, media, education, beauty, and healthcare.
ING Labs Brussels runs proof of concepts (PoCs) together with young tech companies and the bank’s business units to bring new solutions to the market faster.
The 16-week scale track allows young tech companies to test their value proposition in a real banking context. ING Labs Brussels provides a supportive ecosystem of experts, classes and mentoring focused on the scaling journey.
The core objective of the program is not only running PoCs together, but also aims to explore and validate whether a partnership or commercial collaboration after the program makes sense.
In-Residence, by JP Morgan, takes an open, transparent, and highly collaborative approach to developing solutions that will yield enduring value for the entire financial industry. Through a highly specialized program, In-Residence builds partnerships with the best and brightest to co-create solutions to wholesale banking and capital markets challenges.
Applicants should have an initial concept or product developed and be eager to validate their idea with knowledge from JP Morgan, as well as tailored guidance from the bank’s domain experts. In-Residence accepts applications on a rolling basis.
Kickstart supports startups in scaling their business in Switzerland. It is a yearly running innovation program in Switzerland that brings together later-stage startups with corporations, foundations, universities and cities in order to foster deep tech innovation.
The program is open to Swiss and international later-stage startups that are developing and/or applying deep technologies – science and engineering driven technologies such as AI, Big Data and blockchain etc. – in and around the areas of fintech and insurtech, edtech and new work, food and retail tech, smart city and technology, and healthtech and circular economy.
The Natwest Fintech Accelerator program has been tailored to empower established businesses looking to grow. It’s is a six-month, fully-funded program for entrepreneurs with high growth businesses who are looking to scale up.
Plug and Play Fintech was launched in 2015 and has accelerated 200+ fintech startups and invested in 50+. The 12-week accelerator program runs twice a year connecting the best early-to-growth stage startups to the world’s largest financial institutions.
Plug and Play Fintech runs its fintech program in Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.
Startupbootcamp Fintech claims it’s the world’s largest accelerator for fintech startups. The three-month program is open to startups across the globe and is the first fintech accelerator to receive support from leaders in the fintech industry.
Startupbootcamp Fintech is running programs in nine locations including Amsterdam, London, Singapore, Mumbai and New York. It is supported by more than 15 corporate partners, including Lloyds Banking Group, Rabobank, MasterCard, Intesa SanPaolo, arvato financials, DBS Bank, RHB Bank, CIMB Bank, Thomson Reuters, PwC, Santander, IDA and leading venture capital firms including Route 66 Ventures, IIPL, Jungle Ventures and Pix Vine Capital.
As well as access to Startupbootcamp’s extensive ecosystem of partners and mentors, the ten successful startups will each receive EUR 15,000 and over three months’ free office space.
PwC and Findec have combined forces and started an accelerator program for young startups within fintech, regtech and insurtech, The Bonfire.
Through the program, selected startups will build the foundation needed for their future growth, and gain access to valuable expertise and coaching tailored to their needs.
The program stretches over 3 months but builds relationships to last. As part of the program, startups are matched with a mentor, get expert trainings, tools and access to the two partners’ global network. PwC will help them address their strategic goals and face their day to day challenges.
The Incubator, hosted in Thomson Reuters Labs Zurich region, offers a 6 to 12-month program aimed at facilitating the interaction of early stage startups with the firm’s network of customers and investors.
The program offers office space, mentoring from a diverse group of seasoned executives and entrepreneurs, and access to Thomson Reuters data and technology capabilities. It does not take equity.
The Incubator focuses on startups in regtech, legaltech, taxtech and newstech.
UniCredit Start Lab was set up to support young entrepreneurs, innovation and new technologies.
The program is aimed at innovative startups, offering a multidimensional accelerator program to help drive business ideas forward, including cash grants, mentoring, network development, targeted training and specially tailored banking services.
It offers the chosen startups comprehensive support, working alongside teams at all stages of the business lifecycle with specific initiatives.
»venture» is an initiative of the ETH Zurich, McKinsey & Company, Switzerland, Knecht Holding, the innovation promotion agency CTI and EPFL Lausanne. As the leading Swiss-wide competition for the best business idea and the best business plan, »venture» supports young entrepreneurs in founding a company. The competition aims to unleash untapped innovation potential by encouraging young entrepreneurs to develop a business idea. A number of renowned companies from Swiss industry and commerce sponsor the competition.
The Wise Guys Fintech accelerator consists of an up to 5 month intensive full-time mentoring program in Vilnius combined with online modules.
Mentors are specialized in financial services industries, and the program curriculum focuses on idea shaping and validation, business development, sales, fintech regulation, and fundraising.
