Bitnexo and Destacame.cl winners of the BBVA Open Talent Latin America 2015
The winners of BBVA Open Talent Latin America have been announced. Bitnexo was chosen for its blockchain-based payments solution for companies trading with Asia, and Destacame.cl, which has already been recognized with the Special Financial Inclusion Award, won top honors for its system which creates credit risk profiles based on bill payment histories for basic services.
The two winners - both from Chile - have been chosen as the best out of the 15 startup projects competing in the Latin American final of BBVA’s startup contest.
The first winners of the BBVA Open Talent contest – now in its seventh edition - were announced during the Finnosummit conference in Mexico. This year, the contest is focusing for the first time on digital companies that specialize in financial services and technologies directly related to the banking industry. “Latin American startups have proven that they can put together truly innovative fintech proposals”, said Hugo Nájera, Director of Digital Banking at BBVA Bancomer, noting that 30% of the contest’s projects hailed from Latin America.
“BBVA Open Talent is a great opportunity to spot the best startups and start building ties to develop a new generation of banking services”
“BBVA Open Talent is a great opportunity to spot the best startups and start building ties to collaborate in the development of a new generation of banking services”, added Gustavo Vinacua, director of Innovation Centers and Open Innovation at BBVA.
Each company will receive a €30,000 award and will join the two winners from Europe and the two from the U.S. and Rest of World editions of the contest to complete a two-week immersion program in Mexico and London. The six winners will also be invited to enjoy a one day of innovation in the kitchen of Celler de Can Roca, named the world’s best restaurant in 2015.
This year’s edition of BBVA Open Talent continues with the U.S. and Rest of World final, which will be held on September 14th and 15th in New York. The European Final will take place on September 21st and 22nd in Barcelona.