Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Rep. J. French Hill, FIS President & CEO Gary Norcross, The Venture Center President and CEO Lee Watson and other community leaders were in attendance to meet this year’s participants at a kickoff event held yesterday at The Venture Center.

The 2017 program received 295 applications from startup financial technology firms across the U.S. and 39 other countries. The 10 chosen startups are:

● Alpharank - San Francisco, Calif.
● Alto IRA - Nashville, Tenn.
● Bond.ai - New York City, N.Y.
● eGiftify - Little Rock, Ark.
● Hedge Hog - Detroit, Mich.
● Omnetrium- Chicago, Ill.
● Plinqit - Ann Arbor, Mich.
● Quotanda - Mexico City, Mexico
● WalletFi - Chapel Hill, NC
● Xplanr - New York City, N.Y.

The selected companies will participate in a rigorous 12-week program designed to accelerate the development of their financial innovations. Each company will receive in-depth mentoring and training from FIS and The Venture Center as well as a monetary investment.

“FIS has always been about applying advanced technology to the real-world challenges facing our clients,” said Gary Norcross, FIS president & CEO. “This program is a great example of how we are harnessing the spirit of entrepreneurship with the power of applied innovation to bring breakthrough products and services to our clients. Together with the state of Arkansas and The Venture Center, we are helping to develop and foster innovations that will make a difference for financial institutions around the world.”

The VC FinTech Accelerator, Empowered by FIS, is focused on identifying and accelerating the development and growth of early-stage financial technology ventures.

“We are excited to continue this collaboration with FIS to facilitate the development and potential growth of these companies,” said Lee Watson, The Venture Center CEO. “Together, we provide FinTech startups with proven go-to-market training, C-suite level mentorship and access to top financial institutions.”
As a result of the 2016 program, six companies were selected to join the exclusive FIS HiPo Network, and two companies have relocated their headquarters to Little Rock, Ark.

The 2017 program will culminate with a Demo Day on July 26 at the Clinton Presidential Library, where leaders from each of the participating firms will showcase their innovations to potential investors, regional and local community leaders and successful entrepreneurs.