That’s a wrap: Two startups take home $300K+
45 applicants. 24 selected companies. 5 finalists.
Calgary based financial technology companies Fillip and Miq were announced as the winners on Friday evening at an award ceremony celebrating the inaugural Digital Commerce Bank Calgary Fintech Award. Together, the two companies take home prizes worth more than $300,000 in non-dilutive cash.
The Calgary Fintech Award champions fintech companies that demonstrate clear innovation and a strong value proposition for the Calgary region through the creation of jobs, economic growth and diversification.
“The Calgary Fintech Award helps fintech startups to accelerate their business by providing the prize winners with cash prize money that is non-dilutive capital. The award encourages them to keep growing in Calgary”, says Jeffrey Smith, President & CEO at Digital Commerce Bank (DC Bank) and founding sponsor of the Calgary Fintech Award.
“We have been very pleased with the quality of the Fintech Award participants, the founders and their teams. Calgary is a fantastic city to continue to grow the Fintech market and we are pleased to give back to our industry.”
45 fintech startups from across Canada applied for the award and 24 were selected to participate in the intensive program. Over the past 3 months, the companies completed fintech-specific workshops, mentoring sessions with world-class advisors, pitch coaching, and business evaluation. In early October, the field was narrowed down to 11 finalist companies.
In Calgary on Friday, the top 5 finalists were selected to make a final pitch live at the Platform Innovation Centre for a judging panel of fintech experts and entrepreneurs from across Canada.
Jonah Chininga, Co-Founder & CEO, Miq
The second place prize of $60,000 went to Miq, a financial platform that enables community cooperatives to pool funds, save and build credit.
The first place prize of $250,000 was awarded to Fillip, the first digital payment platform built for business fleets to empower drivers to pay for fuel and maintenance expenses with a secure digital wallet.
Alice Reimer, CEO, Fillip
“For us and for Calgary, this award is an opportunity to shine - to demonstrate to the world that Calgary is the best place to start, scale, and succeed in tech and in business", says Alice Reimer, CEO at Fillip.
The top 5 finalist companies in the Calgary Fintech Award included Credit App, Fillip, Miq, PayShepherd and The Smart Benefit by YRPlans.
The Digital Commerce Bank Calgary Fintech Award is a joint initiative of DC Bank and Platform Calgary. DC Bank has committed $1 million over four years to support fintech startups through the Calgary Fintech Award.
