The program is a superb acceleration track for later-stage innovative companies that wish to test the applicability of their developments in the Central and Eastern European banking sector. Application of women-led companies and startups with gender-diverse founding teams is especially encouraged.

The fourth OTP Startup Partner Program is the Group’s most comprehensive innovation program to date as besides the Group’s headquarters, all its foreign subsidiaries are also looking for startup partners supporting their business objectives. Thus, applying startups have the chance to conduct pilots in 12 countries of Central and Eastern Europe from Slovenia to Russia. The program is based on collaboration: from defining the pilot scope all the way to the live launch of the mutually developed solutions, the selected startups are supported by a group of banking experts and mentors. The cohort companies will have the opportunity to attend multiple events supporting international networking and can introduce themselves to renowned national and international corporations, thus expanding their business development opportunities.

OTP Startup Partner Program is looking for later-stage startups and scaleups in the following 5+1 categories:
• Advanced Data Analytics
• Customer Experience and Customer Servicing
• Internal Efficiency
• Product Innovations in Retail Banking
• Product Innovations in SME and Corporate Banking
• Entirely innovative and disruptive solutions, which do not fall under any of the above-listed categories but are related to the banking sector.
“The pilot period of our previous program coincided with the European outbreak of the coronavirus. OTP Group’s commitment to innovation is clearly proven by the fact that despite this situation, we were able to complete all previously commenced pilots successfully. There was enormous interest in the program: for example, our online Demo Day was followed by over 1100 viewers. I am proud to see that OTP Startup Partner Program has grown into an innovation initiative that mobilizes the entire Group. Besides this, year after year, we are able to convert an increasing number of cohort companies into long-term partners,” said András Fischer, head of OTP Bank’s Retail Innovation Department.

Companies applying for the program will take part in a three-stage, online selection process: after completing the online application form, candidates demonstrating a good business fit will be invited to an online interview and finally, the best applicants can attend the two-day online Selection Days in early December. At the event, the representatives of the enterprises can prove the relevance of their solutions in front of banking experts. The three-month pilot period - supported by business development mentoring - takes place between March and May 2021, mainly through online channels. The pilot period concludes with an in-person Demo Day, where the cohort companies can present the results of the pilot projects to the management of the Group, as well as the representatives of several Hungarian and international corporate partners and investors. Afterwards, the companies with the most promising pilot results will be admitted to the 6-month rollout phase of the program, in which they can instantly commence the live implementation of their solution within the Group.