The sixth London Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars class officially concludes – more than 150 alumni companies have successfully graduated from the programme to date with a portfolio valued at over $1 billion.

Today, the sixth London class of the Barclays Accelerator, powered byTechstars programme came to a close with a Demo Day showcase for investors and industry peers at Rise London in Shoreditch. Barclays is pleased to announce that with more than 150 alumni companies and 15 programmes officially completed to date, the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars is one of the largest single-bank-powered portfolios globally, currently valued at over $1 billion.

This year’s London class received a record number of applications from 67 countries, where the top ten Financial Technology (FinTech) startups were chosen to participate in the 13-week programme to accelerate their business strategy and receive feedback from mentors and business sponsor teams to enhance their products and ideas.

The 2019 London class goes beyond banking with a diverse set of exciting businesses that address opportunities in Aviation, Business Intelligence, Capital Markets, Carbon Trading, Compliance, Cybersecurity, SME Banking, Loyalty and Insurance. The companies worked closely with a team of Barclays executives, the Techstars worldwide network and other industry leaders to further develop their business propositions, and as demonstrated today, they have truly come a long way in developing breakthrough innovations.

“The ten companies have made significant progress over the past 13 weeks and Demo Day was a success,” stated Mariquit Corcoran, Managing Director, Group Innovation at Barclays. “It’s exciting to see how much the programme has grown since its launch back in 2014. We’re extremely proud to have more than 150 alumni companies in our growing portfolio. The valuation of the companies topping the $1 billion mark is a major milestone that highlights the success of our alumni. I look forward to continuing to strengthen the programme in 2019 and beyond, with the help of the Barclays and Techstars networks, and the many mentors who dedicate their time to help our founders advance their businesses.”

“The impact of the Techstars and Barclays networks on these companies has been transformational – especially in such a short period of time,” says Kartik Varma, Co-managing Director of the London Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars. “It’s been a privilege to help these startups identify challenges and opportunities and grow their businesses. These ten teams are truly reinventing the financial services industry with practical solutions for large problems.”

Many of the Accelerator teams will take up office space at Rise London after the programme, keeping close ties with Barclays as they progress to the next stage of their development. As alumni of the Barclays Accelerator, teams will continue to receive ongoing support from Barclays’ Group Innovation Office, furthering business development opportunities within the bank and exploring potential avenues for growth with Barclays clients.

The ten companies of the 2019 London class of the Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, are:

• Blockaviation: Blockaviation is creating the world’s first global register for aircraft records.
• Capexmove: Capexmove is a platform used to draft debt financing documents and convert them into smart legal contracts.
• Inbotiqa: Inbotiqa’s Intelligent Business Email solution integrates, automates, allocates and analyses to transform communication and operations.
• Krowd: Krowd’s marketplace enables retailers to target consumers with highly personalised offers.
• Paid: Paid simplifies cash flow for small businesses and freelancers through contract management and invoice purchase.
• Photocert: Photocert provides third party trust for pictures and videos shared between businesses and their customers reciprocally.
• Smarter Human: Smarter Human’s software translates siloed data in financial services firms into actionable insights to reduce operational and regulatory risk.
• Spark Change: Spark Change is the financial instrument that stops pollution.
• Trezeo: Trezeo is building the financial safety net for the self-employed.
• UrbanFox: UrbanFox helps online merchants and payment processors detect and stop stealth fraud.

Further information on the Barclays Accelerator can be found at www.barclaysaccelerator.com.

Source: Barclays