UK banks to support small businesses growth with new innovation challenge

FinTech Scotland and Smart Data Foundry have joined forces to launch a UK Fintech innovation challenge in collaboration with some of the leading UK banks.

This innovation challenge seeks to find innovative solutions that will support and strengthen the relationships between Financial Institutions and their SME clients. Successful applicants will be able to access a prize of up to £50,000 to help develop their ideas and support taking them to market.

This challenge offers a unique opportunity for participants to present their ideas to industry leaders, as well as engage with experts in data, technology, and fintech. This exposure will allow innovators to gain valuable insights, receive expert guidance, and enter potential collaborations, maximising the chances of success for their projects.

One of the key features of this challenge is the provision of SME synthetic data by Smart Data Foundry. It will enable FinTechs to thoroughly test and refine their innovations, ensuring the development of robust and effective solutions that address the real needs of small businesses.

Thanks to the support from the Strength in Places UK Research and Innovation Grant, substantial funding will be offered to promising projects arising from the challenge. This funding will provide the necessary resources for entrepreneurs and innovators to develop and implement their ideas which will support small businesses towards sustainable growth and prosperity.

This challenge aims to provide essential support to address the strategic and operational needs of small businesses in Scotland and the UK in a post-COVID business environment.

Banks hold vast amounts of data about their SME clients. Unlocking the power of this data can help small businesses to become even more resilient and promote financial well-being, allowing them to flourish, grow and achieve sustainable and successful commercial futures.

This follows recommendations laid out in the Research and Innovation roadmap published by FinTech Scotland in March 2022 which highlighted the opportunity to drive innovation in support of SMEs across various sectors.

Commenting on this initiative, Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland said: “We are thrilled to launch the FinTech Scotland Innovation challenge, which presents a tremendous opportunity to support small businesses and drive innovation in the post-COVID business environment.

“By collaborating with industry leaders and leveraging synthetic data assets, we aim to empower entrepreneurs to develop ground-breaking solutions that will address the strategic needs of SMEs. We encourage innovators to join us on this exciting journey as we shape the future of the fintech landscape in Scotland and the UK.”

Bryn Coulthard, chief product and technology officer at Smart Data Foundry added,  “One of our core missions is to use data to inspire and accelerate financial innovation. The combination of funding from UKRI’s Strength in Places Grant together with the unique SME synthetic data that we have made available for this initiative creates the ideal environment for FinTechs to embrace this challenge and to get involved.

“Collaboration is a key ingredient for innovation and I’m delighted that we have partnered with FinTech Scotland with support from NatWest Group and Virgin Money to provide sector expertise with the power of the combined networks to make this innovation challenge a huge success.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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