BNP Paribas joins forces with start-up incubator Fusion

BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA is one of the Group’s major international operations, with 1,500 employees and a presence in four Swiss cities — Geneva, Zürich, Basel and Lugano. The partnership with Fusion allows BNP Paribas (Suisse) to collaborate with innovative start-ups to provide state of the art solutions to its customers' new needs.

Kim-Andrée Potvin, Chief Operating Officer and digital strategy sponsor at BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA commented: "Although newly initiated, the tangible results we are seeing at this early stage confirm that this partnership will enable BNP Paribas in Switzerland to become a leading player in the financial services of the futur. This partnership is a catalyst in our modernisation programme and the transformation of our processes. The financial industry is experiencing a major shift and the technological curve of great amplitude. Combining our expertise with that of passionate and enthusiastic entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of technology allows us to go quickly and efficiently to the core of these changes."

Guillaume Dubray, Managing Partner of Polytech Ventures added: "We are delighted to welcome BNP Paribas to the Fusion fold. As the first bank to join this unique initiative, BNP Paribas demonstrates its pioneering spirit. Fusion is conceived as a partnership between members drawn from all areas of financial services that are united in their passion and work towards a common goal: innovation to meet the needs ofcurrent and future customers. Given the diversity of BNP Paribas Group's businesses and its international footprint, we look forward to fruitfulling the collaboration with Fusion start-ups.

About BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA
BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA is one of the Group’s major international operations, with 1,500 employees and a presence in four Swiss cities — Geneva, Zürich, Basel and Lugano. The Bank is a leading foreign bank in Switzerland in private, corporate and institutional banking. Our approach centres on our private, corporate and institutional customers and private investors. BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA offers personalised support and services for personal and business planning. Closely integrated within the BNP Paribas Group and backed by the service capacity of the leading European banking and financial group with 187,000 employees in 75 countries, BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA reaffirms its aim of establishing itself as the leading European bank in the Swiss market for corporate, institutional and private customers 

About Fusion
Fusion grew out of an initiative by Polytech Ventures, a venture capital company based in EPFL, Switzerland. Fusion is a 12-month acceleration programme offered to 10 FinTech start-ups per year, to enable them to move from beta to revenues. The programme includes a training course, a network of experts and mentors to provide support, as well as a network of partner companies that provide start-ups with the resources they need to accelerate their development. Fusion is also a physical, 600 sq. m space in Geneva.