Santander InnoVentures Distributed Ledger Challenge launched to inspire fintech startups worldwide

Challenge encourages innovation in distributed ledger applications for banking with prize fund, expertise and access to investors via the Onevest angel community

Santander InnoVentures, the $100 million fintech venture capital fund of Santander Group, and Onevest, a leader in the startup ecosystem operating CoFoundersLab and 1000 Angels, today launched an open competition to encourage and support early stage startups using distributed ledger technologies in the financial services industry.

The Santander InnoVentures DL Challenge is aimed at startups worldwide. The Challenge seeks to identify and support innovative applications for using distributed ledger (DL) and blockchain technologies to improve the processes and operation of the banking industry.

The Challenge highlights areas providing opportunities for improvement and re-invention. These include mortgage processing, trade finance and asset leasing. An earlier report, The Fintech 2.0 Paper: rebooting financial services by Santander InnoVentures, estimated the value of these opportunities as worth many billions of dollars.

The winner of the Challenge will receive a $15,000 cash prize to help fund the startup during the process of refining their idea to make it ready for angel investment.

The winner will be given access to market and technology experts at Santander InnoVentures and its parent, the Santander Group. Onevest will provide mentorship and guidance before presenting the winner to its 1000 Angels private investor community to pitch for ongoing funding.

Participants are invited to enter the Challenge at http://innoventures.onevest.com/ Entrants will be shortlisted and then selected by a panel of DL and blockchain technology experts at a Challenge event to be held in New York during January, 2015.

“Our aim is to inspire innovation and encourage entrepreneurship,” said Mariano Belinky, Managing Partner of Santander InnoVentures. “Distributed ledger technologies will create huge value for customers, banks and entrepreneurs who create new businesses around it. The Challenge will spark and accelerate that process for fintech startups.”

“The financial industry’s processes are ripe for improvement and our investor community has an appetite to help startups in that space. We look forward to fostering innovation in partnership with one of the most powerful players in the fintech space,” said Alejandro Cremades, Co-founder and Executive Chairman at Onevest.

Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market value and among the largest banks on a global basis, while Onevest has managed to build one of the largest startup ecosystems with over 2,000 entrepreneurs registering to its online ecosystem every month via CoFoundersLab which connects entrepreneurs with other co-founders and advisors.

Vemotion to attend Global MSC Security Conference

Massive security conference provides great opportunity says Vemotion

CCTV transmission specialist Vemotion will be attending this year’s Global MSC Security Conference and Exhibition, something it says will provide a great opportunity to showcase its latest technology. The prestigious security consultancy event, to be held at The Bristol Hotel on 9 and 10 November, offers attendees the opportunity to see the latest innovative security products in an expert and educational environment.
 
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, MSC is an essential event to partake in for those in the security sector says Stewart McCone, CEO of Vemotion.
 
“MSC is a must-attend event for us and others in the business, so we’re delighted to be attending,” said Stewart. “We attend as many of these sort of events as we can, but MSC is always at the top of our list due to its professional environment and knowledgeable attendees. The chance to reach key audiences is a huge one and one we’re relishing.”
 
A leading multi-disciplined security consultancy conference, MSC provides independent, specialist consultancy along with trusted advice in all aspects of the security. For Vemotion, presenting and talking about CCTV and wireless transmission is something it believes MSC caters for greatly, meaning the Thirsk-based security expert can best display its latest technologies to a host of senior members from a range of institutions including councils, hospitals, universities and blue chip companies.
 
Close Vemotion partners will also be in attendance, including Meyertech; iComply; and 360 Vision Technology, something Stewart says reinforces the strength of MSC.
 
“MSC is great for maintaining and developing key security industry partnerships and showcasing the latest technology tools,” explained Stewart. “The combined breadth and wealth of experience and knowledge on show ensures those attending get the best information possible on what’s out there and available to them. We intend to make the most of this opportunity so keep an eye out for future announcements from us as we have many exciting and forward-thinking ideas in the pipeline!” concluded Stewart.

Further information on Vemotion can be found on the website at http://www.vemotion.com/ or call 08444 906 906, or email [email protected]