Donna Lymon 
Since 2014, Barclays has been mentoring and providing coworking and events space through its Rise Financial Technology ecosystem. This week Barclays introduced an investment pool of 10 million pounds for each financial technology initiative that goes through the Barclays Accelerator program powered by TechStars. This is one of the biggest capital investment program currently in the Financial Technology market.
Located in the heart of Silicon Valley of New York, Rise New York is currently home to 60 robust financial technology start-ups. Barclays plan expansion to transform the location to the network’s biggest site with five full floors spanning over 66,000 sq. Ft., capable of hosting over 200 businesses. With state of the art events space, an auditorium and a recording studio backed by Barclays’ new Innovation Technology R&D centre, Rise looks to host various events and learning sessions that will be open to public with an aim of creating financial technology awareness such as blockchain, digital assets, cryptocurrency and v=numerous other financial technology avenues for the future.
John Stecher, Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays, said: “The FinTech community is growing faster than ever with some game-changing start-ups. With the expansion to create our largest ever Rise site, not only can we give those in our Accelerator program the room to grow – but we can also help to house more of the best and brightest fintech innovators. We are excited to create opportunities for Barclays to work directly with businesses transforming the financial services industry.”
The monies will facilitate early-stage investment in strategically relevant companies participating in its Rise Accelerator program, brightening prospects for both the start-ups and the bank. Sigma Ratings, Crowds, and Simudyne are a few start-ups part of the Rise Accelerator ecosystem that already has commercial deals with Barclays and is transforming the way this world leading bank does business. With more than 140 companies in its portfolio, the Accelerator program is currently active across New York, London, and Tel Aviv. It is a win-win situation for all fintech start-ups and Barclays, these start-ups get the financial funding they need, and Barclays gains early access to the latest financial technology of the world.