The 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator Demo Day on April 20 in Little Rock showcased some of the country’s top fintech startups.
Hosted by the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) and The Venture Center, in partnership with the state of Arkansas, this year’s ThinkTECH cohort featured solutions ranging from loan origination and cybersecurity to business account opening and data intelligence. The 11 participating startups — entailing roughly 1,000 participants — showcased solutions that bring high-tech functionality together with the high-touch spirit of community banking for innovative results.
“The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program was designed with the overarching goal of helping community banks do what they do best: build relationships,” said ICBA Chairman Brad Bolton, president and CEO of Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Ala. “This program continues to deliver on that promise with tailored solutions designed with community bank sensibilities and customers in mind. I look forward to continuing our efforts as we work collaboratively to reimagine community bank innovation.”
Data analytics and visualization company KlariVis was named “MVP” for its team’s collaborative approach and the platform’s potential to solve for community bankers’ business challenges and opportunities. Digital lending platform Quilo won the 2022 Banker’s Choice Award at ICBA’s annual convention, ICBA LIVE, last month.
“Our state has earned global recognition as a hotbed of innovative financial technology, which is critical to banking, health care and agriculture,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “Banks are the central hubs that offer so much to the people in the community, and with over 95 percent of operating banks in Arkansas being community banks, we know a little bit about how important they can be for our state as the future inches closer.”
The fourth-annual program shifted from virtual programming to a hybrid format during the 16-week intensive bootcamp.
The 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator alumni are:
- Accrue— loan origination/business account opening.
- Chimney— (formerly Signal Intent) next generation financial calculators.
- DocFox— business account opening/Bank Secrecy Act compliance.
- KlariVis— data and business intelligence.
- LemonadeLXP— learning experience/digital adoption.
- Quilo— installment lending
- Senso— lead generation for mortgages.
- Sequretek— cybersecurity
- Unifimoney— investing and money management.
- Vero Technologies— floor plan lending
- WealthStack— SMB-focused financial wellness platform.
“Community bankers across the country have seized the moment to explore innovation,” Venture Center Executive Director Wayne Miller said. “Thanks to our partnership with ICBA and the state of Arkansas, this program continues to reach more and more bankers who are at the heart of our innovation process. We are honored to be a part of ICBA’s mission to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish.”
A recording of the ICBA ThinkTECH Virtual Demo Day is available online.
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