Fintech, InsurTech, proptech and other financial industry related early stage startups are invited to apply for the new program of Startup Wise Guys accelerator – Wise Guys Fintech, hosted by Swedbank. Program will start next year in early spring and will be held in Riga, at specially equipped co-working space at Swedbank Latvia headquarters. 

Apply online: fintech.startupwiseguys.com 

Apart from 20.000 eur investment and modern, fully equipped co-working with probably the best view in town, startups will get access to 3 month acceleration program topped up by 3 month after-care and optional stay at the co-working. Program's partner Swedbank will be looking for potential pilots and startups to grant premium access to their APIs through Open Banking initiative, as well as access to the 7 million client base in 4 markets. 

Having the strongest footprint in Baltics, CEE and CIS, this Startup Wise Guys program is not limited to this region, applications are open to startup founders from any country, especially nearby Nordics, that have strong fintech traditions, but way higher living and business costs. 

Wise Guys Fintech program will be run by a team that has already had exits, have raised millions for startups, and have relevant industry experience from startup founders to CxOs in large corporations. To compliment more than 6 years of experience running regular B2B accelerator programs, Startup Wise Guys have gathered a group of special fintech focused mentors for Wise Guys Fintech program, among them: former CEO of Holvi (exited to BBVA) Johan Lorenzen, worldwide blockchain and fintech leader Loretta Joseph, head of Digital Strategy at Swedbank Girts Berzins, and others. 

Startup Wise Guys is the leading B2B startup accelerator in Europe and among top 10 investors in early stage startups in the Nordic region. SWG has accelerated more than 80 companies with founders from over 30 countries and have completed 7 cohorts in Tallinn, Estonia and 2 in Riga, Latvia. Portfolio includes companies like VitalFields (exited to Climate Corporation in 2016), PublishDrive (raised series A, Nov 2017), as well as fintech startups Investly, Welltrado and EstateGuru. In 6 years of operations, the survival rate of accelerated startups is above 77%, which means that majority of startups are still successfully in business.