Banking innovation moves beyond fintech
Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for trade and innovation, has today announced it is embarking on a fourth 16-week City Insights Programme with partner, the London Irish Business Society (LIBS). Following another successful programme in 2017 and popular demand for new inclusions, the 2019 programme has been extended to incorporate two further sectors, Digital Tech and Talent Tech. The programme’s finalists are divided across these three sectors.
The programme has handpicked 10 companies who have been selected for their high potential and capacity to develop at an increased rate as a result of working with mentors and, to enable each company to successfully grow and scale internationally. Previous alumni of the programme include Assure Hedge and Corlytics who have achieved huge international scale since participating on this programme.
The companies selected for the 2019 programme, include; DataChemist, a company building the database of the future, BidRecruit, a smart, fast and cost-effective recruiting software for HR departments & hiring managers and Webio – who bring artificial intelligence driven conversations to the enterprise. Webio’s conversational interface uses AI to streamline inbound and outbound customer communications across new and existing channels.
Commencing on 14 March in London, minister Paschal Donohoe attended an event in Islington, London, celebrating both the launch of the latest programme and St Patricks Day.
The 10 finalists as part of the programme have each been assigned three mentors from the pool of 30, who are offering their expertise and experience having worked at the helm of some of the UK’s fastest rising SMEs. Eamonn Carey – MD of Techstars and Andrew Barrie – experienced mentor in the UK & founder of the numerous successful start-ups are just two examples of the available mentors.
The pairing of mentors with the finalists aims to provide SMEs with the innovation know-how, but who perhaps lack access to the required experience that is needed to take an SME to the next level and make their product globally accessible and desirable.
Padraic Geraghty, Enterprise Ireland’s Digital Technology Market advisor said, “Throughout the partnership, the 10 selected finalists have a rare opportunity to exploit their mentor’s qualities and implement said qualities into their business strategy and operation. The companies involved will also be able to learn from another as they are embarking on their scaling strategy within the UK.”
Jack Finucane-Clarke, Enterprise Ireland’s Fintech and Financial Services Market advisor said, “This year’s cohort of companies represents a broader scope of businesses. The programme has traditionally been for finance and fintech companies. The fact that we are seeing more digital tech companies in the City Insights Programme this year reflects how the industry is evolving. As the financial services industry innovates, the pool of technology provider widens. Irish companies are developing innovative solutions for tomorrow’s marketplace. “
