Applications Extended for Finance Forward Europe 2020, Village Capital’s Investment-Readiness Program

Annebeth from Village Capital
17 Apr 2020

Finance Forward Europe 2020 is a part of Finance Forward, a coalition to support financial health startups led by founding partners MetLife Foundation and PayPal

Village Capital today announced the deadline for applications for Finance Forward Europe 2020, an investment-readiness program for early-stage fintech startups from the European Union and neighbouring countries, have been extended to accommodate startups working on COVID-19 solutions.

The focus for the program is on startups that are building tech solutions for the nearly 40 million Europeans locked out of basic financial services, as well as tools for small businesses.

"The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact across all aspects of our society - including the financial health of people and businesses across Europe," said Allie Burns, CEO of Village Capital. "As people lose jobs, dig into their nest eggs and fight to keep businesses from shuttering, we need innovation more than ever in building solutions that help people save money, find work and access financial services. We're extending recruitment for financial health startups to ensure that startups that are actively responding to the pandemic have an adequate amount of time to finish applications."

Twelve financial health-focused startups will be selected to participate, if circumstances permit, in two workshops in Dublin and Berlin in mid-late 2020. Otherwise, the workshops will be conducted virtually.

Participating startups will benefit from eight days of training with a focus on improving investment readiness and growing their businesses. Each company will work closely with industry experts, investors, and ecosystem partners to develop the networks they need to scale their impact. The top peer-selected companies will be eligible to receive a total of $150,000 in grant funding from MetLife Foundation, divided between the winners.

The program is a part of Finance Forward, a multi-year global coalition led by founding partners MetLife Foundation and PayPal to support entrepreneurs on four continents who are building tech-enabled solutions to place-based challenges around financial health.

All startups that apply to the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s global online network that helps entrepreneurs become self aware and articulate how ready they are for investment, and matches them with the right investors and resources: https://abaca.app/en/

Applications now close on April 25, 2020. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found at this link: https://vilcap.com/current-programs/finance-forward-europe-2020

ENDS

About Village Capital Village Capital helps entrepreneurs bring big ideas from vision to scale. Our mission is to reinvent the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Our vision is a future where business creates equity and long-term prosperity. Since 2009, we have supported more than 1,000 early-stage entrepreneurs through our investment readiness programs. Our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in more than 100 program graduates.

About MetLife Foundation At MetLife Foundation, we believe financial health belongs to everyone. We bring together bold solutions, deep financial expertise and meaningful grants to build financial health for people and communities that are underserved and aspire for more. We partner with organizations around the world to create financial health solutions and build stronger communities, engaging MetLife employee volunteers to help drive impact. MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Since its founding through the end of 2019, MetLife Foundation provided more than $860 million in grants and $85 million in program-related investments to make a positive impact in the communities where MetLife operates. To date, our financial health work has reached 9.9 million low-income individuals in 42 countries. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit metlife.org.

About PayPal Fueled by a fundamental belief that having access to financial services creates opportunity, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) is committed to democratizing financial services and empowering people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy. Our open digital payments platform gives PayPal’s 277 million active account holders the confidence to connect and transact in new and powerful ways, whether they are online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Through a combination of technological innovation and strategic partnerships, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money, and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and iZettle, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies. For more information on PayPal, visit https://www.paypal.com/about. For PayPal Holdings, Inc. financial information, visit https://investor.paypal-corp.com.

For more information, please contact:
Annebeth
Village Capital
annebeth@widepr.co.uk

1101 K Street Suite 920
20005 Washington, D.C.
USA

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