The Commonwealth Bank’s venture scaling arm x15ventures has revamped its accelerator program Xccelerate and is now on the hunt for five early-stage fintech startups to back.
The three previous iterations of We have seen Xccelerateprogram, which brings together x15, CBA and more Australian CVCs and VCs to the Investment Committee.
Xccelerate gives founders access to mentors and experts to help them accelerate growth and navigate the path to corporate partnerships, as well as pitch to outside investors.
Applications open this week.
x15ventures MD Toby Norton-Smith had this to say to this group. They focus on startups shaping the future of Australian payments.
“Xccelerate 2022 is an investment program for founders who want to grow their businesses with corporate partners. Early investment has the potential to open long-term strategic relationships with Australia’s best-known institutions and inspire enterprises to improve their enterprise strategy and readiness.
“From an early investment, Ventures will strengthen its relationship with CBA, opening the way for additional investment potential, distribution, integration and other strategic benefits.
“Payments are infrastructure – this is a blessing and a curse for any startup – the benefits of delivering innovations are huge when they cut across the economy, but the road to getting it right is high. That’s why corporate partnerships can be a way for founders to avoid some of the risks. We look forward to receiving applications.
3-part program
The three-part Xccelerate program helps early-stage teams understand how to navigate enterprise sales and strategic partnerships for early-stage ventures. Networking with experts in areas such as risk, legal, cyber and marketing, and funding to help pave the way to a strategic partnership with CBA through x15.
x15ventures portfolio director Laura Faulcon said they are excited to return to an in-person session after two years of being a virtual-only event.
“For this year’s Xccelerate, we want to create teams anywhere in the payments ecosystem, whether it’s making payments more efficient and smarter, solving cash flow challenges for small businesses or providing services that add value at the point of sale,” she said.
“As long as there is potential to accelerate future payments here in Australia and the team has the desire to scale with the support of a large corporation like CBA, we would like to hear from them.
According to Laura Faulconner, in the current tech funding market, Xccelerate has a role to play in partnering with other VCs to get funding for innovations and “helping them quickly decide whether or not corporate partnerships are a viable path. Level.”
Applications are due Thursday, September 1. You can check the program’s entry requirements here. Before applying to the vessel.
Nominated applicants will be invited to a 30-minute virtual meeting with a member of the x15 portfolio team to dive deeper into their work with 15 to 20 teams selected for the Xccelerate Community Day on September 13.
The final five will be selected to enter the Partnership Pathway Day, where they will receive one or more investments before moving on to Investment Pitch Night on September 22.
All Xccelerate 2022 events will be held in person at the x15 campus “xBase” in South Eveleigh, Sydney.
