SICTIC Fintech Angels: Smart money for early stage Swiss Fintech Startups

The intersection of Finance and Technology (Fintech) has led to unprecedented enthusiasm in our country and abroad. Switzerland's strengths in finance, technology and innovation make it a natural home for aspiring Fintech startups. Nevertheless it is still difficult for Fintech entrepreneurs based in Switzerland to raise the capital required, particularly, in the early stages.

This is why the Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC) is launching SICTIC Fintech Angels (SFA), a vertical in the SICTIC Investor Community dedicated to Fintech startups. To underpin its commitment, SICTIC adds Fintech experts to its board as well as advisory board and works closely with affiliated associations in order to boost the growth of the Fintech ecosystem in Switzerland. This initiative is supported by the Swiss Government’s Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI).

A number of additional goals are worth being highlighted in this context: Firstly, SICTIC wants to open up the exciting world of business angel investment to a wider, more diverse angel investor audience. To achieve this, SICTIC is reaching out to female professionals and organizations representing them. Secondly, SICTIC is building up a library of educational content on angel investing, such that newcomers to this field can avoid the pitfalls usually associated with the lack of experience.

The core activities of SICTIC Fintech Angels are "SICTIC Fintech Investor Days", during which Swiss Fintech startups selected by a jury pitch in front of active business angels. These events build on the success of over 25 previous SICTIC Investor Days with more than 200 startups pitching since the year 2010. An online platform supports the investment process. Applications for startups can be submitted and investors from Switzerland and abroad interested in a high quality deal flow of outstanding Swiss Fintech startups can become members upon application.

Each year SICTIC Fintech Angels and its partners Swiss Finance Startups (SFS), SIX FinTech Incubator F10, Swiss Startup Invest, Swiss Fintech Innovations and the London based FINTECH Circle organize a larger and open investor focused Fintech event in collaboration with other Fintech associations, business angel networks, incubators and accelerators. The first Swiss Fintech Investor Day 2016 will be held on November 14th, 2016 from 13:00 to 18:30 in Zürich.

About SICTIC
The Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC) is a non-profit association under Swiss law that connects smart money investors to seed early stage ICT startups based in Switzerland. It is open to anyone interested in "Angel Investing" and takes no fees nor equity for deals that it facilitates.

Picture: SICTIC Fintech Angels Steering Committee: Bolko Hohaus, Thomas Kern (Lead), Nina Portier Reinhart, Thomas Dübendorfer, Ralph Mogicato (left to right).

(Press release)