Volkswagen Financial Services launches the third edition of Startup Battlefield to “promote the emergence of innovative ideas and businesses” in Lisbon.
The application process is open until September 23, 2018. Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) Portugal identified three eligible categories of startups that fit their business and innovation strategy.
- MOBILITY SERVICES DISRUPTION
- PROCESS AUTOMATION
- CUSTOMER UX
VWFS Startup Battlefield is a pitch-based competition that brings together Europe’s top early-stage startups to compete for unique prizes.
Startup Battlefield will take place on October 4, at Time Out Studio, in Mercado Ribeira, in Lisbon and “will give the opportunity to a dozen selected projects that submit to the contest.”
To enter, startups and entrepreneurs should register at www.vwfs-battlefield.com to explain their idea, project or business and their capital gains. The organization will make a selection of the best projects, which will have the opportunity to compete and convince the jury, which will be composed of VWFS managers and entrepreneurs and personalities linked to the innovation ecosystem.
“Volkswagen Financial Services, as the leading financial services company in Europe, is committed to facilitating the lives of its customers and the community by providing innovative and disruptive services,” said Alexandre Vasco, Director of Marketing at Volkswagen Financial Services in Portugal in a statement via Dinheiro Vivo.
“That is why, as part of our policy of digital transformation and open innovation, we are promoting the emergence of ideas and businesses that can contribute to the day-to-day life of individuals and companies, with Volkswagen Financial Services Startup Battlefield being an opportunity for anyone who has innovative ideas and projects that wants to develop and / or rely on a reference partner like our group,” he added.
The winning project will receive a prize for the six-month mentoring program at the Volkswagen Future Mobility Incubator, a startup incubator for the group in the German city of Dresden, and a prize of 15,000 euros.
The second and third parties will receive a prize of one thousand euros and one exhibition space in the next edition of the Web Summit in November.
The 1st edition of VWFS Startup Battlefield, powered by Volkswagen Financial Services Portugal, took the stage at the TimeOut Studio in Lisbon and awarded Parkbob, an Austrian app that helps people find a parking place, the 1st prize: a stand at the 2017 Web Summit and an included cash-prize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5oZrItKSEc
In April VWFS acquired a total of 90% of the shares of Lisbon-based software startup VTXRM.
Read More: Volkswagen acquires 90% of Lisbon software startup VTXRM
With its Accipiens software, VTXRM covers digital contract processing for financial and renting companies, and is already being used by Volkswagen Financial Services in several countries after having been implemented first in Portugal.
The Portuguese startup will continue to serve its customers outside the Volkswagen Financial Services Group and operate independently in the market, aiming to further expand its business.
And in May VWFS launched Ducati Financial Services in Portugal dedicated to the motorcycle sector, in partnership with the Ducati brand.
Read More: Ducati Financial Services arrives in Portugal
Ducati Financial Services is a specialist in financial services whose mission is to support Ducati customers and partners through the provision of the best financing and acquisition solutions for all types of clients.