The third annual Fintech Awards Luxembourg (powered by the LHoFT and KPMG) take place tomorrow! Fourteen molten hot companies will pitch in front of a panel of experts and hope to win one of the top prizes, which include €50k in startup money, membership in accelerator hubs, and advertising campaigns.
But what do this year's contestants say about the maturing field of fintech? In a phrase: elegant combinations of technology.
We increasingly see young companies that are wielding several technologies—artificial intelligence combined with blockchain, for example—to meet their goals. Rather than building a single blockchain for a single purpose, startups are thinking in bigger terms, for example creating entire payment ecosystems or producing platforms that cut through silos of operation.
But this is merely the observation of a trend. Tomorrow we shall see how the judges find the companies' ideas, their teams, their products and services, and their future plans.
Let's meet our 14 semi-finalists:
2Spark
The Paris-based 2Spark offers a platform—driven by artificial intelligence, of course—on which a company's entire staff can jointly participate in change, one minute per day. It seeks to enable deep company transformations across the organisation with gamification and great user experience.
AgroCenta
From Ghana comes AgroCenta, a payments platform focused on trading African agricultural commodities. Businesses can buy directly from smallholder farmers at fair market prices, which is a win-win: buyers save time and hassle while farmers get customers—and also, via the platform, market trends and info.
Algoreg
One of the hometown teams is Algoreg, whose chatbot can onboard customers in compliance with laws and regulations. Based in the heart of Luxembourg City, the B2B fintech has built a product that uses video and photo platforms to ensure a smooth and secure user experience.
Apentis
Also from the Grand Duchy is Apentis, a risk management "boutique" whose product suits asset managers, ManCos, and private banks. The fintech can generate reports and other materials in the name of enabling companies to monitor their assets while remaining compliant with regulations.
Apiax
The Swiss regtech Apiax is in the business of building resilient, digital tools for mastering complex financial regulations. With their products, regulations can be transformed into sets of digital rules that can be managed easily in contexts like robo-advisors, digital wealth management, and more.
BitValley
The third (and final) Luxembourgish startup in the running is BitValley, whose blockchain advisory services include training, API development, and consulting. One of their recent projects was in the music sector, applying blockchain to digital rights management—simplifying rights protection and empowering artists.
Credit Data Research
Based in London and Milan, Credit Data Research have created a number of instruments designed for small and medium enterprises, namely to connect them to funding sources, enhance their transparency, and help them enter foreign markets.
Deecision
The French regtech Deecision delivers an "intelligent diligence" platform for banks and finance houses, easing regulatory compliance and overall management of customer knowledge. The young firm stresses their holistic approach, seeking to put an end to working in silos.
Elinvar
From Germany comes Elinvar, a B2B2C digital platform for asset and wealth managers. Customised for each client, the platform covers the whole asset management value chain, from customer website to investor portal, from frontend to backend, and from order management to regulatory reports.
Raisin
Another investment platform from Deutschland is Raisin, which bills itself as the first and only pan-European deposit marketplace. With it, users can easily invest money anywhere in Europe, and enjoy total protection on those deposits up to €100k per customer/bank.
Hydrogen
New York fintech Hydrogen offers a set of APIs containing the digital infrastructure, financial engineering, blockchain tech, and artificial intelligence that companies need to set up financial applications anywhere in the world. "Complex platforms simplified" is how they put it.
IDnow
The clue is in the name: German regtech IDnow provides identification verification now, rather than later. The B2B fintech offers a KYC-compliant, platform-independent tool for conducting secure and legally-binding contracts with customers. Succeeding in the "now economy" is central to their mission.
Silot
Singaporean contender Silot, in the words of its CEO, "embraces the cashless revolution" with its payments solution. The startup has created its own ecosystem for providing financial services to institutions, and has launched its own blockchain-powered Silot Banking Platform as well.
ThetaRay
Based in Israel, ThetaRay has come to Luxembourg to pitch about its AI-driven advanced analytics platform. The startup specialises in detecting anomalies in huge data sets, regardless of source, using its algorithms. In this way they fight fraud, reduce risks, and help companies reduce blind spots.
Find out more about the Fintech Awards Luxembourg here.
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