Mastercard Lighthouse unveils its Spring 2023 class

Leading partnership platform in the Nordics and Baltics, Mastercard Lighthouse, has today unveiled its Spring 2023 class for its FINITIV and MASSIV programs.

Lighthouse FINITIV

15 outstanding fintech and fintech enabler startups have been selected to participate in the 10^th edition of the FINITIV program. The three-month long program is designed to showcase and support innovation for the most promising startups and scaleups across Denmark, Norway and the Baltic markets’ fintech industry.

The participants selected for the 2023 Spring program are revolutionising the way individuals and businesses manage their finances; from AI-based platforms for cross-border lending and virtual cards that split bills, to flexible payment solutions and customisable onboarding software.

By leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, these Nordic and Baltic startups are at the forefront of financial innovation, offering accessible and personalised financial products and services to customers across Europe and beyond.

Meet the Lighthouse FINITIV Spring Class of 2023:

Denmark

• 2021.AI offers a dynamic AI Governance platform ensuring compliance with automated processes killing pen and paper. 
• Anyday A/S offers a buy-now-pay-later solution for online shopping, connecting merchants with shoppers.
• Penly is developing a digital private banking service to help individuals, with average earnings, improve their economy. 
• Tjommi has built the shopping companion to shape the future of eCommerce leveraging auto price refunds post-purchase. 
• Uniify has a no-code customisable onboarding software, for obtaining and structuring financial data on B2B and B2C end users. 

Norway

• Celeri offers real time daily salaries and provides tools for personal economy.
• Fygi turns the user’s mobile phone into a payment system, shoppers scan a store-specific QR code activating Fygi.
• Goscore brings cross-border credit scoring to enable lenders to assess creditworthiness based on up-to-date transactional info.
• Spense revolutionises the automotive industry through a flexible payment solution with a first-class customer experience. 
• Two is delivering a B2B payments solution to ease the B2B purchasing journey and help merchants provide trade credit, BNPL. 

Estonia

• Freerange Lamas has a virtual card that splits bills, it auto-splits each transaction and debits everyone's share directly from their bank accounts. 
• Mifundo has an AI-based platform which makes cross-border lending possible for the banks and consumers in EU. 
• Solid World scales carbon financing through diversified and derisked pools. 
• Swapin.com is infrastructure for web3 connecting banks, crypto exchanges, licenses, multiple Blockchains and verifications. 
  
  

Lithuania

• AMLYZE is a RegTech start-u providing a fully integrated suite of products to support fintechs, neo-banks, virtual asset. 
  
  

Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation, Fintech and Impact Tech Engagement at Mastercard Nordics and Baltics says; “The financial technology industry is undergoing a transformational shift, and the fintech companies selected for this program are at the forefront of this revolution. I am excited to see the innovation and disruption that they are bringing - they are pushing the boundaries of traditional banking and payment methods, and their solutions are addressing the changing needs and expectations of consumers.

“At Mastercard, we are committed to facilitating partnerships and collaborating with these companies to bring new, secure, and innovative payment solutions to consumers, merchants, and businesses. It is through platforms such as Lighthouse that we can create a more inclusive, connected, and sustainable financial ecosystem.”

The companies admitted to the program will have the opportunity to present their solutions and discuss possible collaboration areas with Mastercard, SEB, Swedbank, Danske Bank and DNB in a 1 on 1 setting. Mid-program, companies will be matched with relevant investors from the Lighthouse Investor Circle (a group of 80+ investors covering Europe, the UK and North America).

“As a banking partner for the Mastercard Lighthouse program, we look forward to exploring synergies and bringing more value to our clients through collaborations with innovative fintechs. In the past programs we have seen how these collaborations can bring new perspectives, expertise, and technologies that can enhance our offerings and ultimately benefit our clients.” – Erlend Nitter-Hauge, Senior Strategic Partnership Manager at DNB

Additionally, the companies will meet growth advisors such as AWS, Fintech Mundi and Invenio Growth. The program also facilitates meetings with various Mastercard stakeholders, including Marketing and Communication teams for expert guidance.

Since its launch in 2018, Lighthouse FINITIV has been a catalyst for innovation in the Nordic and Baltic fintech industry. The Mastercard Lighthouse FINITIV program has already supported over 150 fintechs and fintech enabler companies and facilitated multiple partnerships between innovative startups, scaleups and Mastercard partner banks.

Over 100 companies applied for the spring term of the program.

Lighthouse MASSIV

Six sustainability and social impact-focused startups from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia have been selected for the Lighthouse MASSIV program, Mastercard’s impact tech partnership program dedicated to helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025.

Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV will facilitate partnerships to help these impact tech companies achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and global distribution.

“We are well underway with our vision of helping one billion people live more prosperous and secure lives by 2025. This spring we selected six qualified companies that are at the forefront of sustainability and social impact. Mastercard can provide impact tech startups with the network to scale beyond their markets and support the companies in realising their impact faster through partnerships. It is through this, that we hope to contribute to making the world a more prosperous and secure place.” – Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation, Fintech and Impact Tech Engagement, Mastercard Nordics and Baltics

Meet the Lighthouse MASSIV Spring Class of 2023:

Denmark

• 4Life Solutions brings safe and affordable drinking water to people in low-income communities. The SaWa can produce more than 5000 liters of safe drinking water using only the power of the sun. Today, more than 300.000 people use SaWa to get safe drinking water, and at the same time the solution creates less carbon emissions from boiling water, saves trees and helps women and girls across continents to learn and earn more.
  
  

Norway

• No Isolation was founded to bring people together through warm technology and knowledge. The company has developed the AV1 telepresence robot, an avatar for children and young adults unable to attend school.
  
  
• Glint Solar provides solar energy developers a software to identify and analyse good potential solar energy sites. Their user-friendly SaaS solution allows for map-based filtering enabling the user to quickly find sites which meet their criteria.
  
  

Sweden

• TrusTrace provides a digital platform for product traceability & supply chain compliance. The company operates at scale in the fashion industry with 50+ apparel and footwear brands, and traces USD 2.5 Bn worth of goods per month.
• Klimato  is helping food companies to track and reduce CO2 emissions with the help of our plug-and-play software.
  
  

Estonia

• eAgronom is the leading ag-tech company bringing financial benefits to sustainable farmers. With a focus on becoming the largest certified soil-based carbon credit developer in Europe and Africa, eAgronom is committed to creating a profitable future for farmers and a more sustainable farming industry.
  
  

The companies joining the program have been chosen because of their desire and ability to scale sustainable partnerships. Mastercard hopes to enhance these collaborations to achieve the vision of making the world a more prosperous and secure place.

As part of the Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV program, participants will receive feedback and support from UNDP, Swedbank, Danske Bank, Synch and individual advisory board members from investment firms like VNTRS. These board members represent sustainability experts, investors, and executives, each with their own global network.

“At a time where it is more important than ever for the global community to mobilise for accelerated action towards the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, it's inspiring to see more and more impact scaleups come to fruition. This progress is coupled with a growing recognition of the importance of impact measurement and management in the private sector. By managing impact, businesses can boost their investment prospects and gain a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent. Furthermore, a significant transformation is underway, where companies are accepting complete responsibility for their impact on the environment. It's imperative to rally behind these companies, provide support, and celebrate their efforts, inspiring others to join the green and just movement. At UNDP, we’re pleased to once more be able to provide our support.” – Stine Kirstein Junge, Head of SDG Accelerator at UNDP.