Kyyba Innovations, a second stage business accelerator in Farmington Hills, in partnership with Techtown Detroit, today announced the launch of the inaugural Detroit Fintech Challenge to identify game changing innovations in the financial services industry.
The Detroit Fintech Challenge (DFC), a pitch competition happening April 6 and 7 at Techtown Detroit, will bring together dozens of entrepreneurs, coders, developers, and other key players from across the region to generate solutions to the biggest challenges and major concerns in the financial, payment, banking, and insurance sectors.
Through DFC, early-stage companies will be given a theme/ challenge statement category. The challenge statements are the guiding force of DFC, and are cultivated in collaboration with corporate partners.
Each statement addresses a broad area of concern as well as a few possible entry points for a technical solution. DFC hopes to drive a community around fintech technologies, engage stakeholders in the space, and create new and innovative companies.
“We are excited to host the first ever Fintech Challenge in Detroit, as we truly see this contributing immensely to the current revitalization of the city,” says Ted Ganesan, managing director of Kyyba Innovations. “As a result of the Detroit Fintech Challenge we expect to create another (economic) sector in the city and state leading to economic prosperity for years to come.”
Ganesan says applicants will be exposed to stakeholders, market leaders, and influencers in the finance, banking, and insurance services market. Cash and non-cash prizes will be awarded to selected winners, including a $50,000 investment from Kyyba Innovations. Corporations can contribute to the curated Fintech Challenge and Data Library that are tied to the key issues or identified “challenge statements.”
“FinTech is truly compelling due to the immense opportunities for disruptive innovation that emerges when startups, financial institutions, consumers, and industry partners work in collaborative spaces,” says Paul Riser, director of technology-based entrepreneurship at TechTown Detroit. “The Detroit Fintech Challenge is an intentional effort to position our region at the edge of fintech’s perfect storm, which stands to fundamentally reshape the future of the once untouchable financial services industry.”
A kickoff information session will be held on Feb. 15 at TechTown Detroit (5:30-7:30 p.m.). Applicant submissions will be accepted until March 15, 2018. To register for DFC, please visit www.detroitfintechchallenge.com. Questions can be directed to Sarah Myrand: sarahm@kyyba.com