The numbers don’t lie: 45,000 visitors in 2016, followed by 50,000 in 2017, and 80,000 expected this year. As it steadily gains in number, it’s obvious that Viva Technology has become one of the most important international tech fairs.
From Thursday, May 24 through Saturday, May 26, 2018 the Group is thrilled to welcome visitors to our Open Innovation Lab, a 550-m2 environmentally responsible space dedicated to the theme of “Positive Banking.” The BNP Paribas Lab will be divided into five major areas dedicated to presenting our latest innovative projects and initiatives, hosting talks on the Group’s key themes, and promoting our startup ecosystem.
#VIVATECH: Accelerate your future.
Viva Technology in figures
80,000
attendees
8,000
startups
103
countries
What’s new for the 2018 edition?
+ International
This year, a total of 103 countries will be represented, including familiar tech nations like the United States, Israel, China, the United Kingdom and South Korea, with a special focus on Africa, the new emerging land of innovative technology.
+ Diverse
For the first time in 2018, new sectors will be represented by major names in the automotive, insurance, consumer electronics, cybersecurity and sports-tech industries. That means even more collaboration opportunities for startups!
Always more innovative
The event will also present notable and unique innovations, as well as even more immersive experiences. Throughout the three days, visitors can interact with robots and drones, test out virtual reality and augmented reality, and more.
Tomorrow’s customer experience… today!
For BNP Paribas, being the bank for a changing world means anticipating the changes that affect our customers. We aim to leverage this change as an opportunity to offer the best physical and digital tools to make the banking experience faster, simpler and better suited to each customer’s specific needs.In terms of “Digital transformation,” we will present over the three days some 30 different projects, which are being conducted primarily through an open innovation approach. They will cover the following themes:
- Mobile banking (Hello Bank, augmented reality, and more)
- New customer journey (Personetics, Mimesys Holoportation, LyfPay, and more)
- Artificial intelligence (Nickel, Gambit, DreamQuark, and more)
- Blockchain (My collat, Planet Funds, and more)
Our lecture series on these topics can also be found at the BNP Paribas Lab. Of additional interest is our Viva Technology CEO Forum, where we discuss the following theme: “How will our digital transformation enable us to reinvent the customer experience, notably in collaboration with FinTechs?”.
anticipating the changes that affect our customers and leverage this change as an opportunity.
Accelerate the positive impact on society
Relating to “Positive Impact”, the Group will use our booth space to host over 10 startups with which we collaborate to build a more sustainable and fair society in the following areas:
- The energy transition and combating climate change (Solar Impulse, Climate Seed, Sunna Design, and more)
- Social entrepreneurship (Simplon, Phénix, and more)
- Supporting vulnerable populations (Techfugees)
- Education (Leka, LearnEnjoy, Connect Parc, Little Makers on the Job, and more)
We will host a major lecture addressing our commitment to these topics at our booth space on the afternoon of Thursday, May 24, coinciding with the Positive Impact launch by Sparknews and BNP Paribas. On Friday, May 25, the Group will take to VivaTech’s main stage to discuss the following question: “What new roles and responsibilities must major private-sector players take on to accelerate society’s transformation and steer it in a more sustainable and fair direction?”.
Sensitizing younger generations to the positive impact
Expanding on our “Positive Impact” efforts, during the fair’s general public day on Saturday, May 26, BNP Paribas will organize learning workshops and conferences tackling the following themes:
- #Cybersecurity: cybersecurity and informing young people about the dangers of the web and social media;
- #ManageYourBudget: financial education for kids and students;
- #LearnDifferently: new forms of learning, notably for disabled children;
- #DrawYourFuture: initiation to entrepreneurship and introduction to tomorrow’s jobs, including coding robots.
On the agenda: immersive technologies, virtual reality, digital, humanoid and learning robots, eSports and more! Tons of new experiences for kids and adults!
On Saturday, the BNP Paribas Lab will also host a conference on Africa Tech together with many different startups. Also not to be missed is the major conference on Girl Power and women entrepreneurship, which will take place on the VivaTech main stage. Among the lineup of inspiring women who will be present for this event is Marie-Claire Capobianco, Head of French Retail Banking at BNP Paribas.
VivaTech, the main event for startups and innovation leaders
In just three years, Viva Technology has established itself as one of the essential events for innovators worldwide. VivaTech 2018 will host several thousand startups from all backgrounds, prestige partners, and a long list of renowned speakers.
As a celebration of innovation in every form, VivaTech aims to serve primarily as a space for exclusive interaction between startups and corporate entities. All of the approximately 20 Open Innovation Labs, run by industry-leading companies, offer unique spaces dedicated to collaborating with promising and capable startups.
Photos ©Jean-Claude Guilloux / ©L’oeil du Diaph