Mihaela Nadasan, Deputy CEO, Institutions and Financial Markets, represented Banca Transilvania at NEXTFintech - The Bridge to Inclusive Finance, the leading acceleration event for FinTech startups in Romania. Key messages included:

Because startups are a core focus at Banca Transilvania, our attention to FinTech startups came naturally and later evolved into a business approach. They teach us to be agile.

BT has partnered with FinTechs and taken equity stakes in some of them.

At our bank, digitalization started as a need to enhance the customer experience, then became a mindset and, in 2020, amid the pandemic, a necessity.

The agility of FinTechs, combined with banks’ experience, delivers the best outcomes for customers.

Bank–FinTech collaboration requires continuity, commitment and heightened attention to security and regulatory requirements.

Sustainability needs to become the principal guide for FinTechs’ actions.

11 startups took part in the acceleration program, which lasted 12 weeks and included four mentoring modules: sales & matchmaking, product marketing, international market-entry strategies and investment readiness. The startups pitched at NEXTFintech, giving them the opportunity to showcase their products and progress and to attract investors. The international jury named the following winners: 22Trust Venture - Best Product, Leaseman - Best Startup, Investory - Best Pitch and ZOOM Report - Popularity Award.

NEXTFintech was organized by Techcelerator with the support of EFSE Development Facility, Google for Startups, GapMinder VC, TechAngels, RoFin.Tech, Stripe and the Department for International Trade of the British Embassy in Bucharest.