The University of Strathclyde has launched a new FinTech Accelerator Programme to help cement Scotland's position as a leader in financial innovation.
The new programme, to begin in March 2019, was announced at the Strathclyde 100 event, a platform for early-stage businesses to pitch their ideas to potential supporters.
Entrepreneurs accepted onto the FinTech Accelerator will have access to the benefits offered by the Rising Stars programme, as well as a suite of support bespoke to the financial sector - an overall package of £10,000 in monetary and in-kind support.
The FinTech Accelerator programme will be a pathway of Strathclyde Entrepreneurial Network's existing Rising Stars programme and will encourage the development and growth of FinTech businesses
Adrian Gillespie, Chief Commercial Officer at the University of Strathclyde, who provided the welcome to delegates at the event, said, "This is a great step forward for Strathclyde and FinTech".
The Strathclyde 100 event hosted presentations from seven FinTech companies working with the University of Strathclyde, Tontine & FinTech Scotland.
Strathclyde has been at the forefront of the FinTech movement and in September 2017 launched the UK's first FinTech Masters programme at the Strathclyde Business School.
The intensive, 12-month programme combines a rigorous academic curriculum with the entrepreneurial and innovative elements of FinTech, including financial method, data analytics, regulation, and the applications of technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledgers.
Since then, Strathclyde Business School's Centre for Financial Regulation & Innovation (CeFRI) has won the Education Award at the 2018 Inspiring City Awards hosted by the Herald and Glasgow City Chamber of Commerce.
Applications for participants interested in the new accelerator programme will begin in February 2019. Interested parties can contact Daniel Broby, Director for the Centre for Financial Regulation & Innovation at Daniel.Broby@strath.ac.uk.