Why Mumbai fintechs want to Rise

A global innovation network is helping Indian fintechs prepare for the future of financial services.

The burgeoning startup community in India, particularly fintechs, have one more avenue to connect with the brightest minds in the world, thanks to Barclays. The bank has selected the first cohort of 10 Indian startups, through a rigorous process, for its accelerator program dubbed Rise. It all began on 15 June in Mumbai, when Barclays launched Rise, managed by Zone Startups. Barclays targets large corporates in India and it also has a wealth management arm in the country.

Rise is a community of the global thinkers and doers from rising startups to industry leaders, who work together to create the future of financial services. Its raison d’être is to create tools for innovation and growth in financial services. Rise delivers numerous programs that bring startups and corporates together to solve some of the biggest challenges facing financial services. Rise also operates a global network of connected sites in 7 of the world’s top fintech ecosystems (regions). More details about Rise are available at Thinkrise.com

OPEN INNOVATION PROGRAM

The accelerator is Barclays’ open innovation program. It gives selected fintechs access to Barclays’ technology, insight and expertise, and offers dedicated access to onsite mentors and advisors, and enables access to international markets through the Barclays and Zone Startups networks. Mentors and advisors from Barclays India hold leadership positions in the bank.

Himanshu Warudkar, director - head of Client Facing Technology, Investment Banking Technology India & program director - Rise Mumbai says: “Rise accelerator is an important part of the overall open innovation proposition for Barclays. Launch of the debut cohort in Rise Mumbai gives selected startups and Barclays colleagues the opportunity to work with each other on identifying innovative solutions to real problem statements.”