Commonwealth Bank’s venture-scale arm, x15ventures, has revamped its accelerator program, Xccelerate, and is now looking for five early-stage fintech startups to support.
While the three previous iterations of Have seen Xccelerateprogram, which then pitches in front of an investment committee of x15, CBA and additional Australian CVCs and VCs.
Xccelerate provides founders with access to mentors and experts to help them accelerate growth and understand the path to business partnership, as well as introduce them to outside investors.
Applications open this week.
x15ventures MD Toby Norton-Smith said that for this cohort they focus on startups shaping the future of Australian payments.
“Xccelerate 2022 is an investment program for founders interested in scaling their business with business partners. Early investments have the potential to forge a long-term strategic relationship with one of Australia’s best-known institutions and give companies the impetus to develop their business strategy and readiness,” he said.
“From an early investment, companies can deepen their relationship with CBA, with potential for further investment, opening a path to distribution, integration and other strategic benefits.
“Payments are infrastructure – this is a blessing and a curse for any startup – the benefits of delivering new innovation are huge because they cut across the entire economy, but the barrier to getting it right is just as high. Here’s why partnerships with companies can be a way to eliminate some risk for founders, and we look forward to receiving high-quality applications.”
A 3-part program
The three-part Xccelerate program helps teams understand early on how to navigate business sales and strategic partnerships for start-ups; connect with experts in areas such as risk, legal, cyber and marketing; and pitch for funding that can help facilitate a path to a strategic partnership with CBA through x15.
x15ventures Portfolio Director Laura Faulconer said that after two years of being a virtual event, they are happy to return to in-person sessions.
“For this year’s Xccelerate, we’re interested in teams that innovate across the payments ecosystem, in areas such as making payments more efficient and intelligent, solving small business cash flow challenges, or delivering value-added services at the point of sale. , ” she said.
“As long as there’s the potential to accelerate the future of payments here in Australia, and the team has the ambition to scale up with the support of a major company like CBA, we’d love to hear from them.
Laura Faulconer said that in today’s technology finance market, Xccelerate has a valuable role to play in seeking funding for enterprises in partnership with other VCs and “helping them quickly determine whether an enterprise partnership is a viable path, or a distraction to in turn to avoid.” phase”.
Applications Thursday 1 September. Which can view the admission requirements for the program here before applying with your pitch deck.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a 30-minute virtual meeting with a member of the x15 Portfolio team to delve deeper into their venture, with 15 to 20 teams being selected for the Xccelerate Community Day on September 13.
A final five will be chosen to participate in Partnership Pathway Day on September 20, before moving on to Investment Pitch Night on September 22, where one or more investments will be secured.
All Xccelerate 2022 events will be held in person at the x15 “xBase” campus in South Eveleigh, Sydney.
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