>>venture>>, a competition for up-and-coming entrepreneurs in Switzerland, has unveiled the 10 finalists for the 2020 finance and insurance category.

Established in 1997, >>venture>> is an annual startup competition co-organized by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), McKinsey & Company, Knecht Holding, Innosuisse, and Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

With the purpose of empowering entrepreneurs and fostering innovation across Switzerland, the competition recognizes innovative startups across five verticals: health care and nutrition, industrials and engineering, retail and consumer services, information and communications technology (ICT), and finance and insurance, providing them with the opportunity to meet with investors and mentors, access free workshops, get media coverage, and win up to CHF 150,000.

Each year, startups can apply starting January under one of the five industry categories. A panel of jurors, composed of industry and startup experts, reviews all submissions and grade them according to a scale. Projects with the highest overall grades are selected to enter the next round.

For 2020’s finance and insurance category, the 10 finalists are:

Aequitec AG

Aequitec is a digital share issuance and management platform that leverages distributed ledger technology (DLT) and which serves founders and investors. For registered shares, Aequitec assists clients in recording ownership unambiguously via automated processing of all relevant corporate actions.

CurioInvest

CurioInvest uses blockchain technology to create new digital asset class that opens the global alternative assets market to millions of investors around the world in a trustworthy and transparent environment. CurioInvest’s regulatory compliant framework turns collectables like rare cars into shares represented by stable tokens.

Delega

Delega is a new treasury management system that fully digitizes the signatory management process across relationship banks. The tool harnesses the most modern technologies, enabling users to manage signatory rights on a fully integrated basis. This means they can eliminate inefficient processes and free up resources. Using Delega, companies can store and manage a central list of current signatories. This can be shared with chosen banks, ensuring an up-to-date record of signatory information.

Fidectus AG

Fidectus optimizes the working capital of energy traders. Fidectus’ cutting-edge technology utilizes cloud and blockchain to allow clients to reduce operational risk and cost, improve collaborations and let them manage their liquidity and settlement risk. Its plug’n’play software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution connects energy market participants in no time.

Mt Pelerin

Mt Pelerin specializes in asset tokenization and digital compliance. The company is creating a new kind of financial institution using the advantages of blockchain technology to open and facilitate the access to funding and investment for individuals and businesses. The virtual bank is expected to launch this year and is set to offer access to unprecedented financing and investment possibilities, enabling clients to earn money in a safe way.

SIBEX

SIBEX is a non-custodial decentralized over-the-counter (OTC) marketplace (dark pool). SIBEX solves issues such as front-running and reduces the trading cost of capital by providing an institutional-grade dark venue for digital asset procurement and liquidation by enabling cross-chain transactions.

Stableton Financial AG

Stableton Financial is a marketplace for alternative investments providing qualified investors and financial advisors with access to world-class absolute return strategies and alternative investments such as hedge funds, startups, alternative lending, and real estate.

UrbanDataLab

UrbanDataLab is a proptech startup and research company with a focus on urban economics. UrbanDataLab leverages geoprocessing, big data and machine learning to evaluate millions of locations on their spatial structure and user-centered potential. By providing such new generation of decision support, the company assists players of the international real estate industry with scaling their business to new markets.

VALK

VALK is a white label technological solution that digitizes the issuance and investment processes of unlisted company shares. The company’s white-label solution, built on Corda, automates all of the tasks that are carried out manually today by financial institutions buying or selling unlisted shares. The solution, which is targeted at established and regulated financial institutions, helps them save costs and time, but also improve customer experience and increase deal and trade volume on the unlisted assets they manage and offer to investors.

Z22 Technologies AG

Z22 Technologies is a financial research and quantitative asset management company. Z22 Technologies applies the scientific method and uses cutting edge technology to find untapped potentials in a variety of markets.