Equitas Small Finance Bank on Monday announced the launch of ‘Equitech’ – a fintech accelerator programme aimed at the start-up ecosystem. The programme, designed to scale-up, will help fintechs to curate their products and define a go-to-market strategy.

In a press release, the Chennai-based lender said, Equitech will help fintechs to reach the next level and take its product to the market in a more targeted manner. The programme was launched on August 7 and the application process for the enrolment has commenced. “Indian fintech ecosystem is experiencing exponential growth from almost all the sub-segments ranging from payments and regtech to robo-advisory and blockchain. This growth is driven by the innovative fintech start-ups that were able to create unique banking trends like BaaS, neo banking, open banking, autonomous finance etc,” Murali Vaidyanathan, Senior President and Country Head – Branch Banking - Liabilities, Products & Wealth, Equitas Small Finance Bank said in the release.

Also read: After hit by pandemic hard, start-ups on growth path: EY

“These innovations have significantly impacted the way Indian banking industry functions and has resulted in India seeing a 60% increase in fintech investments despite the pandemic. We are glad to be able to assist and nurture the future unicorns in upgrading the banking system for the next level,” he added.

Focus on banking technologies

Equitech will focus on banking aspects such as payments, lending, CASA, transaction banking, API banking, governance & regulations as well as technologies such as agri-tech, banking tech, clean energy, government tech and other horizontal segments across key focus areas. The shortlisted firms will be granted direct access to a world class infrastructure through Equitas Small Finance Bank’s tech platform and API sandbox for product development.

Besides, there will be specific cohorts along with mentors and a panel of experts, the start-ups will work closely with these experts to create their products. Equitas will provide the necessary support required from legal and regulatory aspects. The selected fintech may also get to service Equitas SFB either as their first commercial business partner or as a co-brand partner, the bank’s release said.

Eligibility

To enroll, a fintech start-up must be registered / incorporated within the last 6 years as on date of the accelerator programme opening and should have at least two full-time employees, with most important team members having expertise in their field. The start-up must present an innovative product/ idea with significant advantages over current industry offerings and should represent original ideas wholly owned with the freedom to use.

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