Financial services firm CaixaBank, financial technology services provider Global Payments and digital payment technology developer Ingenico have partnered to jointly launch a Spain-based startup accelerator, Zone2boost.
The initiative was formed to support retail and financial technology developers. It will begin operating in the final trimester of this year out of the city of Barcelona and counts local business school IESE as a collaborator.
Zone2boost will have an initial endowment of €5m ($5.6m) for the next three years and facilities that accommodate about 30 startups.
Participating entrepreneurs will get access to funding, mentoring and workspace for a period of between six months and two years. CaixaBank’s financial consulting division, DayOne, can also provide financial support of up to €250m through a credit facility administered by European Investment Fund.
The corporates will also help Zone2boost portfolio companies build a customer base and commercialise their products and technologies.
The initiative follows the launch of CaixaBank and Global Payments’ merchant commerce-focused innovation hub, Payment Innovation Hub, in late 2017, in partnership with electronics producer Samsung, payment services firm Visa and fleet manager Arval.
