Swedbank, Google Developers Launchpad and Sorainen have joined as official partners to the Wise Guys Fintech 3 accelerator program starting in October in Vilnius, Lithuania, hosted by ROCKIT. International startups accepted to the program will have access to high level mentors from these companies, as well as potential pilots and other perks.

Acceleration program will run from October 2019 till February 2020. Selected startups will receive up to 50K EUR initial investment with follow-on possibility, modern office space and intense mentorship driven program. It will have two tracks: a longer program for startups that need to fine tune their product-market fit, and a shorter and more intense program to startups with monthly recurring revenue above 5K EUR. It is planned to select up to 12 startups for this program. Currently Startup Wise Guys have received already above 100 startup applications, the deadline to apply is September 11. 

Startups can apply online: https://startupwiseguys.com/fintech/  

“Having run two B2B Fintech focused programs already, we see that one of the biggest challenges early stage Fintech startups face is the access to banks and other large enterprises that could become their first clients or help co-creating the perfect product. Building such relationships takes time and trust. Second challenge no doubt is everything related to regulations and licencing. We see strategic partnership with the largest banks in the region, Google and law firm Sorainen as an important shortcut for our startups. And we believe that this network of support will work both ways, as corporates can learn a lot from startups about lean approach and perseverance,”

says Cristobal Alonso, El Patron aka Global CEO at Startup Wise Guys.

Benefits for startups

Partnership with these companies is widespread throughout the acceleration program, starting from participation at the final phase of the selection and finishing with potential pilot projects after the program. Swedbank has been supporting Wise Guys Fintech programs since their inception. The first two programs were run in Riga and hosted at Swedbank Latvia HQ co-working DoBe, whereas, third program will be hosted at ROCKIT powered by Swedbank. 

“We are delighted to welcome new iteration of Wise Guys Fintech program in Vilnius. At Swedbank we believe that the best way to add value and serve our customers in the rapidly evolving financial services market is through innovation. Digital technology has created new opportunities to offer more convenient services and now the cooperation between banks and startups can bring financial services to the whole new level. Therefore, we are ready to provide comprehensive support for startups and look forward to new productive partnerships and ecosystem development”,

says Dovilė Grigienė, CEO of Swedbank Lithuania.

Swedbank will provide international mentors and potential pilot projects with the best fit new businesses from the accelerator. On top of mentoring during Regulatory Week, law firm Sorainen will also provide initial support in Fintech business model, regulatory and corporate matters. As part of Google Developers Launchpad startups will be eligible for Google Cloud and Firebase credits, as well as additional product related help and mentoring.

Ecosystem events

While these benefits are solely for startups participating at the Wise Guys Fintech program, there will be regular events open to the ecosystem and organised together with ROCKIT – SWG + ROCKIT Masterclass. The first one happening already before the program start on September 10 with a guest speaker and Wise Guys Fintech mentor Remco Veenenberg on the topic “How to brand to banks?”.

Wise Guys Fintech 3 is the third Fintech focused program run by Startup Wise Guys accelerator and the second accelerator program run in Lithuania as a part of the „Financial instrument „Accelerator fund”, financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)”. First program for B2B SaaS startups was successfully completed in June, 2019 by 12 startups.

About:

Google Developers Launchpad is a global acceleration program that helps startups build and scale great products by matching them with the best of Google – its people, network, and advanced technologies.

Sorainen is the leading fully integrated business law firm with offices throughout the region, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus.

Swedbank is the largest bank in the Baltics and Sweden, serving more than 7 million private customers. ROCKIT powered by Swedbank is the prime space in Lithuania where top FinTech innovators, creators and founders build the future of Financial Technologies.

Startup Wise Guys is one of the top investors in the broader CEE region and Nordics. To help techy startup founders become true entrepreneurs, they are running a world class startup accelerator since 2012. They have accelerated more than 145 startups in 15 cohorts, focusing on 3 verticals: B2B SaaS, Fintech and Cybersecurity. Portfolio has already had 2 major exits and overall startup survival and success rate is above 77%. More information: www.startupwiseguys.com