20 Nordic and Baltic fintech and impact tech companies join the Mastercard Lighthouse fall class of 2023

September 7, 2023 | STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Today, the leading partnership program Mastercard Lighthouse unveils its Fall 2023 class for its FINITIV and MASSIV programs.

Lighthouse FINITIV

The Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV program has launched its 11th round with 15 outstanding fintech and fintech-enabler startups.

This fall, the partnership program will focus on Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania, with an ambition to stimulate and contribute to the already active and growing startup scene is these countries. Focus areas in the upcoming program include financial literacy, ecommerce payments, blockchain payments, fraud prevention and personal finance management to name a few.

Meet the Lighthouse FINTIV Fall Class of 2023:

Sweden

  • Waya Finance & Technology is a cloud based, end-to-end invoice management platform. Digitally managed with no manual processes at a fraction of the cost of a legacy system configuration.
  • Kwikk helps companies build D2C channels (Direct to Consumers) and start selling online, as easy as copy-and-paste.
  • Bits Technology designs dynamic onboarding flows and prevents fraud by using multiple data sources for your identity needs.
  • Vaulter is a payment solution that increases trust between sellers and buyers by holding the funds until delivery.
  • Tjing The Wallet is a digital wallet for kids that stimulates financial literacy by making money and finances genuinely fun.

Lithuania

  • Fideum is a financial aggregator to help retail and institutional clients-control and manage all assets in one platform.
  • DappRadar is helping users make informed decisions about blockchain-based gaming, NFTs, DeFi services, and metaverse collectibles.
  • Torus is a SaaS intelligence platform empowering card payment providers to improve their profits.
  • Spenfi is a comprehensive spending management software simplifying financial management.
  • Fundvest is a solution for your long-term financial wealth.

Finland

  • Starcart solves the online shopping problem: how to buy things easily and cheaply. It's the Booking(dot)com of e-commerce.
  • Narvi Payments is a Banking as a Service focused on mid-size growth companies.
  • PayUp is a mobile application for managing and paying one’s bills.
  • CHAOS is an AI-driven search platform that provides business forecasts and insights.
  • Booksalon is licensed Payment Facilitator and a PSP and provides salon software as a service provider for hair, beauty and wellness.

"The energy and innovation that these fintechs and fintech enablers are bringing to the table is staggering. It was a tough decision to select the 15 companies among all the applicants, but we are very excited to start working together with some of the most promising fintechs and fintech-enablers in the region this fall. Through Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV we are committed to facilitating partnerships and collaborating with these companies to bring new, secure, and innovative payment solutions to consumers, merchants, banks, and businesses. This is what Mastercard Lighthouse is all about," says Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation, Fintech, and Impact Tech Engagement at Mastercard Nordics and Baltics.

Admitted program participants will be able to present their solutions and discuss possible collaboration areas with Mastercard, SEB, Swedbank and OP Group in a 1 on 1 setting during a series of events and workshops. During the program, the program participants will also be introduced to relevant investors from the Mastercard Lighthouse’s Investor Circle, counting 100+ investors covering Europe, the UK, and North America. Additionally, the companies will meet growth advisors such as AWS, Fintech Mundi, and Invenio Growth. Moreover, the program facilitates meetings with various Mastercard stakeholders, including Marketing and Communication teams for guidance in making their story and messaging clear and enticing, as well as to optimize media exposure during and after the program.

Lighthouse MASSIV

Five sustainability- and social impact- focused startups from Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Estonia have been selected for the Lighthouse MASSIV program, Mastercard’s impact tech partnership program dedicated to helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025. Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV will focus on helping impact tech companies achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals through partnership.

Meet the Lighthouse MASSIV Fall class of 2023:

  • 7Analytics is Norwegian clima-tech startup that uses hydrology, geology, and data science to develop high-precision risk tools that help everyone from infrastructure owners to architects’ plan for imminent and future impacts of climate change.
  • Tespack is a pioneering company specialized in creating smart mobile micro grids for challenging markets. Thanks to advanced software, deep learning, and proprietary hardware, Tespack brings reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure to remote locations.
  • Arbonics is a tech-based carbon and ecosystem platform for forest and landowners in Europe. Arbonics partners with landowners to access new revenue streams by helping them quantify, monitor, and sell the environmental benefits, such as carbon and biodiversity, of their land.
  • Openframe is an effective management tool for construction and buildings in use. Openframe makes sustainability requirements operational, streamlines the process, and reduces manual tasks.
  • Responsibly helps businesses to manage and improve sustainability in their supply chains. With its AI enabled sustainability due diligence engine, Responsibly collects and analyses data from suppliers holistically across social and environmental factors.

"We are well underway with our vision of helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025. This fall we selected five qualified companies that are at the forefront of sustainability and social impact and impact both people and planet. Mastercard can help provide impact tech startups with the network to scale beyond their markets and supports the companies in realizing their impact faster through partnerships" says Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation, Fintech and Impact Tech Engagement, Mastercard Nordics and Baltics.

As part of the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program, startups receive feedback and support from UNDP, Swedbank, Danske Bank, Synch, and individual advisory board members with diverse and impressive backgrounds from investment firms like VNTRS, First Fellow Partners and SKARP.

"As we inch closer to 2030, it’s time to speed up progress towards Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Through the Mastercard MASSIV program, we get to witness first-hand how more and more impactful businesses are taking off. Introducing impact measurement and management to the scaleups at an early stage is vital to ensure a continued focus on sustainability as they grow. The private sector’s increasing commitment to impact – in part driven by new EU sustainability legislation and standards - is encouraging and will hopefully inspire others to join the growing movement and accelerate action for the Sustainable Development Goals. At UNDP, we're happy to continue offering our support," says Stine Kirstein Junge, Head of SDG Accelerator at UNDP.

Media Contacts

Karin Strand, Communications Mastercard Nordics & Baltics

Karin.Strand@mastercard.com

About Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV

Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV is an open innovation platform designed to strengthen the financial services ecosystem. The Program is designed to catalyse symbiotic partnerships between fintechs, fintech-enablers, Mastercard, Nordic and Baltic Banks, Tech Partners and Program Advisors. For candidates selected into the Program, Mastercard covers the program fee, without asking for equity in return. It is a partnership platform that does not dilute equity, nor does it require a significant time investment on the side of the program participants. Twice a year, the 3-month long program creates the right conditions for establishing and deepening partnerships by pairing the energy and innovation capacity of fintechs and fintech-enablers with the stability, resources, distribution capacity and guidance of our program partners.

Read more about Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV at http://www.mclighthouse.com/finitiv

 

About Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV

Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV is an open innovation platform designed to make and scale social impact and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the format of long-term partnerships. By providing teams with competitive incentives and preferential access to partner resources, Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV aims to foster partnerships that will enrich the lives of one billion people by 2025. Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV is designed as a three-stage program. The companies meet with our advisory board, a hand-picked group of executives and partnership experts from around the world, who aim to bring a specific partnership to life. Each partnership proposal receives input from global experts in legal, design, and technology before reporting the results of their partnership endeavors back to the advisory board. The winner of the program is the team that demonstrates the potential to impact the most people via partnership. 

Read more about Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV here: www.mclighthouse.com/massiv

About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

www.mastercard.com