Stanchart Launches Innovation Lab To Collaborate With Fintechs

Standard Chartered Bank has launched an eXellerator lab, an innovation that will serve as a platform to collaborate with fintechs in Kenya and the broader African region.

This is the first eXellerator lab in Africa according to the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Kariuki Ngari.

The lender says it plans to pump Sh10 billion into supporting financial technology (fintech) startups to scale up and generate ideas that will solve banking problems through its eXellerator lab.

Through the lender’s innovation, ventures and investment units, small firms in Kenya and across the African region will be provided with appropriate tools and business environment to develop their products for market use.

“As banks, we know we missed some steps and we want to bridge those gaps through innovation. Some innovators have good ideas but lack market access,” Standard Chartered Ventures chief executive for Africa Kennedy Mubita said.

“Our eXellarators provide the tools and environment to develop experiment and validate new ideas and business models emerging from both our own intrapreneurs and our partners.”

“We are a connector bank, connecting clients, markets and products with networks and facilitating trade and investment across our global footprint across some of the fastest growing markets,” Standard Chartered Kenya chief executive Ngari said.

According to the Africa Region Lead, Kennedy Mubita, the key mission of eXellarator’s is to generate value by emulating intrapreneurial human centred and technology skills across the bank’s franchise in Africa.

Standard Chartered has co-created solutions and established new partnerships to improve client experience and change how they approach and think about banking.

This is to grow by providing access to a range of financial and business solutions in addition the SC Ventures Fintechs Bridge a market first online platform through which the Bank seeks partnerships with fintechs to solve business challenges. 

Kenya is now joining the league of Singapore, Hong Kong, London and San Francisco where the other eXellerator labs are located.