Barclays and Techstars seek out Irish fintechs for accelerator

Irish fintech companies are being encouraged to apply for the latest instalment of Barclays’ prestigious accelerator, a 13-week programme that will take place in London early next year.

The programme, which is run in conjunction with Techstars, provides mentoring to 10 early-stage companies, along with $120,000 (€104,023) in investment apiece and a host of other perks.

Since its introduction in 2014, the programme, which also runs in New York and Tel Aviv, has supported 120 companies worldwide that have so far gone on to raise a total of $182 million in funding since at a combined valuation of $642 million.

Last year's programme attracted a record number of applicants from Ireland. One of those, Oathello, a start-up that operates an instant booking and payments platform for document certification and notary services, made it to the final 10 successful participants.

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Courtsdesk, an online data service that offers search, tracking and analysis of Irish cases, has also previously taken part in the accelerator.

"Courtsdesk went into the Techstars Barclays accelerator as an Irish start-up with a minimum viable product in testing, and came out 12 weeks later as a globally-networked, commercially-launched business, with an advisory board packed with C-suite executives from the most influential companies in our markets, and investors that we couldn't have dreamed of beforehand," is how founder Enda Leahy described its participation in the programme.

This year, Barclays, which is shortly to become the largest bank in the Republic by assets, is hoping to attract even more applications from Ireland.

Co-working space

The 10 successful shortlisted companies will be based at Barclays’ flagship fintech co-working space, Rise in Shoreditch, for the duration of the programme.

"Ireland is quickly becoming a hotbed for fintech innovation and continues to punch well above its weight on the global stage," said Martin Cass, director at Barclays Private Bank, Ireland. "However, the challenge for many local start-ups in Ireland, aside from access to funding and office facilities, is the ability to tap into the appropriate international network of contacts required to significantly scale a potentially global business.

“Our accelerator programme is specifically designed as a solution to these challenges so I’d strongly encourage ambitious Irish technology start-ups to apply to join the programme and benefit from the significant support on offer.”

Mr Cass, along with Techstars' managing director Chris Adelsbach, will be hosting a series of one-on-one meetings with prospective programme applicants in Dublin next Tuesday and Wednesday.

“This year we hope to attract technology start-ups working on lending, payments, wealth management, loyalty, cybersecurity, insurance, big data, regulatory/risk management and other ground-breaking technologies,” said Mr Cass.

Fintech companies interested in meeting with Barclays and Techstars in Dublin next week can find out more at barclays.ie