The Visa Innovation Program announced the graduation of the third group of 18 participating fintechs. The Visa Innovation Program is a collaborative platform for emerging startups, Visa and its vast network of clients and partners that spans the entire Southeastern European region and fosters innovation in the fintech and payment sectors.
Once a year, startups participating in the Visa Innovation Program gather for one last virtual presentation session in front of a diverse audience of entrepreneurs, pan-European Venture Capitals and investment angels, government agencies, fintech experts and banks.This is the culmination of their multi-level commitment under the Programme and an opportunity to show the progress of their teams, the key milestones achieved and their future goals to transform the payments ecosystem through innovation. Their projects are exhibited in a supportive network of 200+ people – part of the Visa Innovation Program alumni club – with the main idea to further promote the expansion and scaling of the startups market.
“Since its launch three years ago, the Visa Innovation Program has evolved and emerged, providing many opportunities for cross-border collaborations and partnerships between startups, merchants, banks and Visa, resulting in the completion of more than 20 Proof-of-Concept and pilot projects. The Visa Innovation Program has created the foundations for partnerships between startups, Visa and banks in Greece.We have the honor and pleasure to work closely with 18 Greek startups, which currently operate in many foreign markets and are all in a state of rapid development, creating innovative applications and services in the financial sector. The Visa Innovation Program is a catalyst for creating collaborative solutions, helping teams develop their ideas, changing the market for the better, aiming at a better customer experience as well as the development of the economy as a whole,” said Michael Psallidas, Managing Director of Crowdpolicy.
Crowdpolicy operates the Visa Innovation Program in partnership with one of the leading startup and initial development venture capital funds in Southeastern Europe, Eleven Ventures (Bulgaria), which is also the regional coordinator of the Program. “The open innovation approach proved successful for us and established Visa as a partner of choice for the most innovative entrepreneurs in the fintech space. The Visa Innovation Program allows access to our network, technology and specialists, while acting as a continuous support system for all startups that work with us in their course of development. It also builds important innovation potentials for customers and partners helping them navigate the digital world easily and with more confidence,” commented Sevdalina Vassileva, Visa’s General Manager for Greece, Israel, Malta and Cyprus.