Six thousand startups from 90 countries have participated in Open Talent over the past decade, and winners have been awarded a total of €1.65 million in cash prizes.

This year’s competition will select one overall winner - chosen from three finalists from a global applicant pool, as well as separate national winners from each of BBVA’s nine core markets: Spain, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Turkey, Uruguay, and the USA. Finally, one startup will be selected to receive the sustainability award - a prize exclusively for companies addressing sustainability through fintech innovation.

All winners will attend BBVA Open Summit in Madrid and be awarded a place on the bank's online acceleration program. The overall winner will be revealed during BBVA Open Summit in Madrid, 23-24 October, in front of a global audience of startups, corporates, policymakers, and influencers.

Ainhoa Campo Nieto, global head of open innovation, says: "Our focus is on identifying and rewarding businesses that are not only great innovators in their own right, but that are putting forward solutions to the big strategic and commercial challenges that banking and financial services are grappling with as the industry undergoes a digital transformation revolution, and developing products and services that address customer needs in ways that incumbents can’t always manage alone.”

To qualify for a place on the programme, startups must have a fintech focus, have at least one minimum viable product (or one at demo stage), and have received less than €2 million in investment to date.