A UNIQUE FINTECH ACCELERATOR

FinTech Village is an initiative of ING BELGIUM SA/NV (“ING”). ING takes the lead in rgaFinTech Village is an initiative of ING BELGIUM SA/NV (“ING”) in close collaboration with ING Bank NV’s central innovation team and other ING group entities, in particular ING Bank NV (in the Netherlands) and ING Luxembourg SA.

ING takes the lead in organising the accelerator program with the aim of identifying relevant technologies and solutions for its customers. ING will provide mentorship and guidance to startups from its senior managers and content experts, as well as access to various infrastructure elements (APIs etc).

Deloitte and SWIFT Innotribe are core FinTech Village partners. They will play an important role in selecting the startups and providing access to several senior managers and content experts for mentorship and guidance.

Deloitte will provide regular coaching and advice to startups on matters such as innovation, security, growth hacking, etc. This advisory support will be delivered directly by senior resources, including Deloitte’s partners as well as leaders of relevant practices and excellence centres.

Moreover, Deloitte will place its global network at the disposal of FinTech Village participants, whether it is to reach Deloitte globally or to help access external resources and contacts in the broader Deloitte network.

Innotribe will bring their unique expertise in the fields of payment and securities infrastructure, security and standards but also compliance and innovation.

Next to its core partners Fintech Village is supported by investor, technology and other partners.

SmartVentures will run FinTech Village on a day-to-day basis together with ING.

Eligible Startups hosted in FinTech Village will also be admitted to the IBM Global Entrepreneur Programme for Cloud Startups and receive IBM Cloud credits from IBM to launch, build, and scale their business on the IBM Cloud. Startups have access to IBM Softlayer and IBM Bluemix including a range of Services and API's such as IBM Watson, Internet of Things, Analytics, Mobile and more.

Every FinTech Village partner and ING recognise the importance of open innovation. Open innovation and working with startups is critical to bringing new financial services to our customers faster than would otherwise be possible. The fintech ecosystem is ever-changing and startups bring the necessary agility required to create distinctive value propositions. FinTech Village core partners aim to build a win-win-win model where startups can benefit from their industry scale and expertise and industry partners can identify unique business opportunities offering exciting and innovative services to the benefit of their customers.

Over time, we expect other partners to join and enrich the programme. Likewise, partners may decide to end their partnership. We welcome new partnerships that will make the FinTech Village an even more vibrant accelerator and add more unique value to startups. We do not make any guarantee as to the availability and contribution of partners.

In a first phase, the application process is held online via an application form where you can tell us about your startup. The questions are designed to understand your solution, your team and the fit with our criteria. It is also designed to help us understand who could be your best mentors and sponsors at ING and our partner organisations. This is important, because the second phase of the selection involves potential lead mentors who will review your application and start thinking about the tailored programme you would receive from them. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews/pitches in Brussels. Candidates that are not retained on the shortlist will be informed. Between the application and interview/pitches we may ask for additional information when needed. The selection is at the entire discretion of ING and its partners.

Our application form on www.F6S.com covers many questions on the problem and market you address, your team, stage of development, etc. We understand that depending on the stage of development of your startup you may or may not have answers to all questions. That is fine. However, keep in mind that with more information we will be in a better position to understand and assess your startup.

No, just complete the application.

Yes, you will need to be an established company to join the programme.

Yes, absolutely.

Not at all.

Nationality is not a criterion, but you must be able to stay in Belgium during the entire programme (with possible exceptions to be discussed).

Please carefully read through the entire website, including this FAQ, the terms of use of the website and the privacy statement. You then know everything you need to know to apply. If you get through the first selection, you will receive more information of what is expected from you during selection interviews.

If your are selected, ING will sign an agreement with you detailing all the particulars of your participation to FinTech Village, such as the services, office facilities and mentoring to be delivered, our other respective rights and obligations, publicity, etc. Short-listed startups will be informed in due time.

The unique offer of FinTech Village is a strong integration with the business through a mentorship structure that appoints a dedicated lead mentor and a personalized mentor team. Startups participating in the FinTech Village will benefit from hands-on mentoring from senior experts from ING with the goal to implement their solution after a successful proof-of-concept. They will also receive unique access to top-level expertise from leading players such as SWIFT Innotribe, Deloitte, serial entrepreneurs and other partners.

The FinTech Village will be collocated with Eggsplore, the open fintech ecosystem, where many workshops, events and training courses will be held together with the Brussels community. Participating startups will be within 20 min of the European Union institutions, SWIFT, Euroclear, Ogone-Ingenico, etc, and within 2 hours of London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt.

Each startup will be assigned a lead mentor who will be a senior figure at ING. If relevant, your lead mentor could also come from one of our partners.

In addition to your lead mentor, ING and its partners will also assign topical or functional sponsors who can accelerate the development of your startup, depending on your specific requirements.

ING, Innotribe, Deloitte and/or other partners will put forward their global networks of expertise and relationships to support your business. The FinTech Village will facilitate access to potential clients, suppliers, advisors, investors and other resources you may need.

At the end of the program there will be a Demo Day open to the public on invitation. We will invite key figures from the networks of ING and its partners, including the press and several investors.

The primary purpose of FinTech Village is to help startups test their concept with a PoC or a pilot, and proceed into further collaboration if relevant. The primary purpose is not to access funding. However, if you would need funding, we would be happy to put you in contact with our investor partners. If you are offered funding through an investment, this will be an arrangement between you and the respective investor. You should seek independent advice if required, before making a decision.

Next to that, under specific circumstances, FinTech Village may contribute to travel and housing expenses for teams coming from abroad.

Participating in the FinTech Village programme does not require any transfer of intellectual property rights from your startup to ING. There might be exceptions if your participation in the FinTech Village involves deep co-development and sharing of IP assets belonging to ING or its partners during the programme. This will then be subject to a separate agreement. However, the general idea is that you remain the owner of what you bring to the table, as does ING.

You understand that ING delivers considerable input and financial means for the setup of Fintech Village and its operation.

We therefore expect that you do not participate in another accelerator program during your stay at Fintech Village, and that you will personally attend and invest sufficient effort to make your Fintech Village experience successful.

On the other hand, we understand that startups need to work with multiple clients and partners, who sometimes are our competitors. We like to work with successful companies and we will help you to the extent possible to grow your business (e.g. through referrals). Therefore, we generally do not require exclusivity on the parties you work with during your stay at FinTech Village. However, we expect startups to be transparent about concurrent PoC or pilots with direct competitors to us and our partners , both during the selection procedure as during their stay at Fintech Village. Whether this cause issues to attend/continue attending FinTech Village will be discussed on a case by case with the startups.

No, applying is free of cost. You do however agree to apply at your own risk and bear all costs you incur to make your application and participate to the selection process.

Once selected, you will not have to pay a fee for being at the Fintech Village or for the services offered there. You will however bear your own costs and fund all activities of your staff, technology and other resources during the programme.

The FinTech Village is located in Brussels, close to ING and its main partners. It will be located on the same premises as Eggsplore, a Fintech Ecosystem organisation with the aim of bringing startups, scale-ups, investors and other fintech stakeholders together. FinTech Village startups will automatically become members of Eggsplore during their stay, have access to its ecosystem and benefit from meetings, master classes and other events held at Eggsplore.

Yes, this is critical. We expect founders/senior leaders within your startup to spend a significant amount of time on site. Without this, the programme will not deliver its full potential. However, it does not mean that your entire team must be on site at all times.

We do not provide accommodation. If need be we can put you in contact with parties that can help you find accommodation during your stay at the accelerator.

Startups and founders can come from anywhere. However, your team will need to have the legal right to stay in Belgium at least for the duration of the programme. We can put selected startups in contact with agencies and services that can help you with visas and immigration matters.

After the completion of the Programme, the startups who will continue to conduct a proof-of-concept with ING and/or its partners might have the opportunity of staying on site until a new cohort arrives. The exact conditions can be discussed as part of the proof-of-concept agreement. Startups conducting a proof-of-concept (or not) may consider staying longer on site through Eggsplore. Any arrangements, need to be discussed directly with Eggsplore.

Once you are selected, you will sign a final participation agreement with ING. This will detail our respective rights and obligations. ING’s commitment to participants is to provide office facilities, relevant mentoring from ING and its partners, help in the development of your business model for your product, and other types of support when feasible and relevant. We will also provide visibility within partner organisations and help develop any business opportunities that may emerge from the program. The services to be provided may differ, depending on the interests, needs and activities of the participants, and that, at this stage, we do not make any guarantee or commitments on the services we will provide once you have been selected.

Do not hesitate to detail in your application what facilities, services and support you would benefit from most.

If, during or after your stay at the FinTech Village, you will conduct a proof-of-concept with ING and/or its partners, this will most likely be subject to a separate agreement.

No, there are no guarantees. It is entirely at our discretion as to whether or not we wish to do a proof-of-concept and / or enter into any commercial arrangement with a participating company after the program. The same applies to our partners. There are also no obligations on your side.