WIREDGOV

Entries invited to Capital One Growth Labs programme to shape the future of finance.

Last week, Capital One UK, in association with corporate innovation specialist and tech investor L Marks, announced the launch of its Capital One Growth Labs initiative, an accelerator programme for early-stage tech start-up’s and high-growth companies.

The initiative aims to discover innovate new businesses, providing them with cutting-edge support to develop technologies for the financial sector. The accelerator is based in Capital One’s Nottingham headquarters.

Applications are now open for companies operating in the following six categories:

• Unstructured data insight
• Security and fraud prevention
• Money management tools
• Enabling healthy financial habits
• Agent technologies
• Open category

Following the application deadline on June 12 2016, around 25 companies will be selected to attend a pitch day on July 6, from which up to six will be accepted.

During the ten-week programme, successful businesses will have direct access to Capital One in order to refine and test their products as well as receiving close mentor support from the company’s extensive panel of experts as well as those from the wider tech industry.

The growth labs initiative joins the likes of Barclays TechStarts, the Fintech Innovation Lab, Level39 and many more, demonstrating that incumbent financial institutions are very much taking the digital revolution seriously, and are looking to collaborate and support innovation rather than seeking to maintain that status quo.

The programme will conclude with a final presentation to a panel comprising business experts and investors.

For more information and to apply, please see here.