Friday turned out to be an extremely profitable day for two fintech startups, who collectively won $310,000 in cash at Platform Calgary’s inaugural Digital Commerce Bank Calgary Fintech Award.
The award, according to a release from the organization, “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.” It’s a joint initiative with Digital Commerce (DC) Bank, which has committed $1 million over four years to support fintech startups through the award.
Upward of 45 fintech startups from across Canada applied, and of those, 24 were selected to participate in what Platform Calgary, which “builds and promotes the city’s startup tech sector,” described as an intensive three-month program.
Representatives from each completed fintech-specific workshops, and had mentoring sessions with advisors on topics ranging from how best to conduct a pitch to business evaluation.
Earlier this month, the field was reduced to 11 finalists, and prior to Friday’s event it was further narrowed down to five, each of whom made a final pitch live to a panel of fintech experts and entrepreneurs from across Canada.
The first-place prize of C$250,000 was awarded to Fillip, which developed a digital payment platform that allows drivers belonging to a truck fleet to pay for fuel and maintenance expenses with a secure digital wallet.
The second-place prize of C$60,000 went to Miq, a financial platform that allows community cooperatives to pool funds and save and built credit.
“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,” said Fillip CEO Alice Reimer.
