FinTech
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Open Innovation with BNP Paribas – Plug and Play
15.10.2018 | Innovation
In January 2017, BNP Paribas launched a partnership with Plug and Play, an international FinTech and InsurTech acceleration programme.
Supporting the Group’s digital transformation
In response to major economic and technological changes and with the aim to become the benchmark bank in Europe, BNP Paribas launched a transformation plan for 2020 to improve customer journeys, develop new work methods, and bring innovation into the heart of its business lines. To do this, BNP Paribas joined forces with Plug and Play to start a FinTech and InsurTech programme dedicated to the bank’s core business and corporate functions.
Through this approach based on co-innovation, the Group can:
- identify and explore new technologies for banking and insurance, new business models and original value proposals
- address the transformation needs of its business lines to reinvent the customer experience and improve operational processes
- give participating start-ups the chance to co-develop one or more operational solutions together with business lines
- offer employees the chance to acquire new work methods: agile, lean management, test & learn, etc.
BNP Paribas – Plug and Play in a few figures
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How does the programme work?
Each year, the programme runs over two seasons of 3 months each. Thanks to the expertise of Plug and Play, over 200 international start-ups have already been sourced since we started. Each of them potentially meets a business need that is in line with our transformation goals. At the start of a new season, about 20 start-ups pitch their ideas on stage with representatives of the Group’s business lines and corporate functions. These then have a month in which to choose a project and get involved in the programme with the chosen start-up. For 3 months, the start-up is accelerated to develop a POC (Proof of Concept) with the aim to enter the industrialisation or contracting phase and deploy the solution in the Group. This is for instance the case today with the French start-up Dreamquark, and the Israeli Scanovate, which are working with BNP Paribas Wealth Management and BNP Paribas Personal Finance respectively.
Plug and Play, the innovation platform
Plug and Play was founded in 2006 in Silicon Valley, and has become a global key player in the development of start-ups. Its strengths? An open-innovation platform that combines:
- dozens of acceleration programmes in the four corners of the earth
- exclusive partnerships with over 300 major international groups
- the largest capital-risk fund in the world, plus an investor network and business angels
Its track record includes Paypal, Dropbox, Logitech and Soundhound Inc…