3 min read
Fintech Factory, Pakistan’s first and only financial technology focused accelerator program in collaboration with TPS, Sybrid, Rapidcompute, JS Bank & Takaful Pakistan, is progressing towards Karandaaz’s 3rd Fintech Disrupt Challenge finale. Karandaaz, Pakistan’s leading promoter of financial inclusion and associated technology, partnered with Fintech Factory to induct selected applicants for FDC III (2018) into the accelerator program and help them reach a market-tested scalable MVP for the challenge.
Fintech Factory’s unique financial technology accelerator program takes startups with market validation and offers them access to state-of-the-art workspace, industry-leading mentors, skillset development through personalized training, and networking opportunities. The program aims to develop the ecosystem in a self-sustaining manner to catalyze innovation in the fintech space to reduce the digital divide and improve the lives of Pakistanis.
“While the opportunities for bridging gaps in the financial ecosystem are phenomenal, the fintech startup space in Pakistan is at a very nascent stage,” said Owais Zaidi, Founder of Fintech Factory. “Understanding the needs of startups and Fintech verticals, our objective is to identify, facilitate and accelerate ideas that can improve the lives of our fellow Pakistanis in a sustainable and scalable manner.” Mr. Zaidi further added that Fintech Factory is delighted to have partnered with Karandaaz for the Fintech Disrupt Challenge 2018 and share their aim of harnessing the most innovative ideas from the financial technology space and transforming them into scalable solutions.
“The accelerator is unique in terms of its offering in the local ecosystem; it is keeping its focus to fintech and has a capable team of professional advisers supporting the cohort,” said Umair Munir, an FDC 3 cohort who is the Founder of Trackit. “We as a start-up have been able to get traction on our MVP and hone our offering. It has also enabled us to validate some of our assumptions and pivot slightly,” he added. Also sharing her thoughts, cohort 3 participant Sara Abbasi who is the co-founder of Blockley, said,” Being a part of Fintech Factory has meant having access to funding opportunities, to business networking opportunities, and to learning from and sharing with other startup founders, all of which has accelerated the process of getting our innovative product to the market.”
“We as a start-up have been able to get traction on our MVP and hone our offering. It has also enabled us to validate some of our assumptions and pivot slightly,” he added. Also sharing her thoughts, cohort 3 participant Sara Abbasi who is the co-founder of Blockley, said, “Being a part of Fintech Factory has meant having access to funding opportunities, to business networking opportunities, and to learning from and sharing with other startup founders, all of which has accelerated the process of getting our innovative product to the market.”
Presently, 07 trainees are brushing up their innovative fintech solutions at the Fintech Factory for the Fintech Disrupt Challenge finale to be held in Karachi on November 29, 2018. Startups with ground-breaking fintech ideas and a high growth potential will be given grants of $100,000 and $20,000.
Based in Islamabad and Karachi, Fintech Factory offers its startups access to industry leading mentors, training and resources to enhance their skills to make their startups a success. Fintech Factory also provides state-of-the-art facilities to startups at The Hive in Islamabad and Karachi. In FDC 2018, initially, Fintech Factory on-boarded 10 teams after a rigorous evaluation of more than 50 applicants that were screened through a multi-stage process.
