As part of its Digital Acceleration Programme, Citi has invited entries from teams across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for the next stage of its mobile development challenge.
Registration for the Challenge open today, and selected participants will demonstrate their concepts at events in Nairobi on April 22, Jerusalem on April 26, Warsaw on April 28, and London on April 30.
Finalists compete for an opportunity to take their technologies into production with Citi’s support, plus a share of $100,000 in cash awards and a suite of services from Challenge sponsors.
One of these is IBM, which will offer mentorship and provide access to BlueMix, its cloud platform that helps developers rapidly build, manage and run web and mobile applications.
Jim Cowles, CEO of Citi for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, comments: “We anticipate that the Citi Mobile Challenge will help us to create a truly distinguished experience for our clients while uncovering fresh approaches for broader financial inclusion.”
The Emea events follow successful programmes in Latin America and the US in 2014. In Latin America, Citi received 150 submissions and hosted 50 finalists in Buenos Aires and Bogotá. The US programme received 744 submissions from 62 countries and hosted 60 finalists at events in Silicon Valley, New York and Miami.
Heather Cox, chief client experience, digital and marketing officer at Citi says the bank is currently evaluating several pilots from the top innovations presented at previous Challenges.
“Through Citi’s Digital Acceleration programme, our goal is to unleash the power of the tech community, develop new solutions and change the way banks have traditionally approached innovation,” she says.