Mediobanca & Founders Factory team to invest in 35 FinTech startups

By Gloria Methri

Mediobanca Group, Italy’s largest investment bank, has signed a partnership with Founders Factory, the London-based global company builder and early-stage investor, to launch a new FinTech venture studio and accelerator.

This joint venture, underpinned by an overall €12 million investment from Mediobanca, will facilitate innovation in financial services by supporting international early-stage FinTech start-ups as well as boost support for Italy’s start-up ecosystem.

The Mediobanca/Founders Factory joint venture will build and invest in 35 FinTech businesses over the next five years. The venture studio will build, finance, and launch new FinTech ventures that utilise advanced technologies, such as blockchain and AI, to innovate the financial services market in synergy with Mediobanca’s strategy and capabilities.

In tandem, Founders Factory and Mediobanca will operate a new accelerator program to invest in and support more established early-stage FinTech ventures in Italy and internationally.

Selected entrepreneurs will benefit from access to vital startup capital, Founders Factory’s global network, operational support, and FinTech expertise, together with Mediobanca’s commercial access and knowledge of multiple routes to financial practices – from wealth management to consumer banking.

Alberto Nagel, CEO of Mediobanca said, “In recent years we embraced the opportunities that technology has created in the financial sector. We have done so in Wealth Management with the launch of CheBanca!, in Consumer Banking with investments in Buy Now Pay Later as well as in Corporate and Investment Banking. We want to continue to serve the talent of our people and the user experience of our customers with the most advanced tech solutions. With this joint venture, we will seize new opportunities, further strengthening the Group’s technology ecosystem, also through the adoption of innovative models that will allow us to respond effectively to market expectations.”

Founders Factory is a global FinTech authority with a long-term relationship with UK financial services operator, Aviva. It is building and investing in nearly 50 FinTech ventures, including Acre, Qumata, and ClearGlass. This new partnership with Mediobanca further cements the organisation’s commitment to the FinTech sector as well as establishes itself as a key figure in Italy’s start-up ecosystem.