In a new initiative aimed at reshaping the financial services landscape, Mediobanca, Italy’s top-tier investment bank, has joined forces with Founders Factory.
The latter is an esteemed global firm involved in company building and early-stage investment, with its headquarters in London. The two entities are launching a new FinTech venture studio and accelerator, powered by a €12m investment from Mediobanca.
The joint venture envisages the development and investment in 35 FinTech businesses in the coming five years. The venture studio aims to cultivate, fund, and set in motion new FinTech ventures that leverage advanced technologies like blockchain and AI. These technologies will further drive innovation in the financial services sector, aligning seamlessly with Mediobanca’s strategic plans and capabilities. Furthermore, Founders Factory and Mediobanca will launch a novel accelerator programme, dedicated to investing in and assisting established early-stage FinTech ventures both in Italy and abroad.
Selected entrepreneurs will reap numerous benefits from this partnership, including access to crucial startup capital, Founders Factory’s global network, top-notch operational support, and FinTech expertise. In addition, they will also gain access to Mediobanca’s commercial resources and insights into diverse financial practices ranging from wealth management to consumer banking.
This collaboration with Founders Factory is a part of Mediobanca’s “ONE BRAND – ONE CULTURE” Strategic Plan 2023-26, which focuses on significantly bolstering the Group’s technology ecosystem. The digital agenda of the Group includes enhancing digital channels to deliver a better customer experience, evolving digital platforms and adopting AI solutions to boost salesforce, and following a path of digitalisation and automation for cost optimisation.
Establishing itself as a major global FinTech authority, Founders Factory has a longstanding relationship with UK financial services operator, Aviva, and has built and invested in close to 50 financial technology ventures, including Acre, Qumata, and ClearGlass. Their partnership with Mediobanca strengthens Founders Factory’s commitment to the FinTech sector and their standing in Italy’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel said, “In recent years we embraced the opportunities that technology has created in the financial sector. We have done so in Wealth Management with the launch of CheBanca!, in Consumer Banking with investments in Buy Now Pay Later as well as in Corporate and Investment Banking with the recent partnership signed with Arma Partners and we want to continue to serve the talent of our people and the user experience of our customers with the most advanced tech solutions.
“With this joint venture we will seize new opportunities, further strengthening the Group’s technology ecosystem, also through the adoption of innovative models that will allow us to respond effectively to market expectations.”
Founders Factory CEO Henry Lane Fox commented, “Mediobanca is one of Italy’s leading financial institutions with reach extending throughout Europe. It makes them the ideal partner for Founders Factory as they recognise the importance of technology’s role in the future of financial services and the systemic change it can bring. Combining our venture building capabilities and fintech experience with Mediobanca’s heritage, financial prowess and global ambition creates a powerful platform to back fintech founders”.
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here
Copyright © 2023 FinTech Global
