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CRIF and Fondazione Golinelli join forces to launch the I-Tech Innovation 2021 program

CRIF and Fondazione Golinelli join forces to launch the I-Tech Innovation 2021 program to fund technological innovation in the Fintech/Insurtech, FoodTech/Agritech and Digital Health Tech sectors.

€ 1.6 million in total investments for three calls dedicated to innovative startups that will be managed by the G-Factor incubator-accelerator with the support of Digital Magics.

The recent health emergency has exposed the technological and IT upgrading of infrastructures, technological innovation in commodity and service production systems, and the teaching of the digital culture in schools, which is still not adequate to compete on an international stage.

I-Tech Innovation 2021 aims to encourage the creation of a new kind of entrepreneurship with highly innovative and technological content in the immediate future, investing in areas of excellence, and in technological development.

Fondazione Golinelli, which with its incubator-accelerator known as G-Factor has become a point of reference in life sciences, and CRIF, specializing in the Fintech and Insurtech sector, are planning a series of future initiatives within the context of their partnership spanning several years in various sectors, such as: agritech, industry 4.0, open innovation, data science, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and virtual reality.

The three Calls for Innovation of the first I-Tech Innovation 2021 program will be managed by G-Factor, from promotion to selection, to the delivery of the acceleration program, with the technical support of Digital Magics, the leading startup incubator in Italy.

The three separate Calls for Innovation are aimed at selecting 13 startups who will participate in a significant mentorship program and support program in the development of their 8-month business models, involving training days in Bologna (Italy), which will be alternated with remote mentoring meetings.

For each of the 13 successful startups, € 40,000 will also be allocated to services, with a total additional investment in training of € 520,000.

Applications must be received by December 3, 2020 and the list of selected projects will be announced on April 13th, 2021.

Visit the following pages and apply now:

Leonardo Lapalorcia October 7, 2020 0 Comments

NEWS

CRIF obtains Credit Reporting Agency license in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (MALAYSIA), JUNE 29, 2020

CRIF OMESTI Sdn Bhd – a joint investment between CRIF and OMESTI Holdings Berhad – has obtained a credit reporting agency (CRA) license in Malaysia from the Ministry of Finance Malaysia. The operation will allow CRIF to extend its global coverage to Malaysia as a licensed CRA to provide credit reports and business information services for financial institutions, corporations, and SMEs.

The joint investment between CRIF and OMESTI Holdings Berhad was formalized in late 2019. Omesti Holdings Berhad is wholly-owned by Omesti Berhad, a public listed company in Malaysia, with its proprietary solutions for digital courts technology, business register management, and banking solutions.

“The credit reporting/information space is an area that we believe holds significant potential, not just in Malaysia but across the region. We were therefore keen to increase our footprint, hence the joint investment with CRIF, where we hold a 30% direct stake at present,” says Mah Xian-Zhen, Director of CRIF OMESTI Sdn Bhd.

“As a licensed credit reporting agency in Malaysia, CRIF will deploy its business information platform technology and its state-of- the-art credit scoring and analytics to the Malaysian market, to raise the bar for business information services, and raise the market to the next level of digital transformation journey,” commented Chrystal Saw, CEO of CRIF OMESTI.

Since commencing its journey into East Asian markets in 2005, CRIF has discovered that the fragmented information framework of many of these countries are key issues to address in order to achieve financial inclusions.

“When it comes to the SME segment of the market, many business owners are refused loans based on criteria that do not necessarily explain how the business is doing. Reliable credit reporting and access to verified business information are therefore critical components of successful trade. This is especially true when it comes to cross-border transactions, where potential trading partners need to ensure they can enter into business in the firm knowledge that the information on which they are basing their decisions is accurate and verified. This requirement becomes even more vital as regional economies push to recover post-COVID-19 pandemic and strive to attract new investment,” adds Xian.

Today, CRIF is directly operating in nine Asian countries – India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and now Malaysia – with additional coverage in thirteen other countries. Apart from offering the credit information services in the country, this strategic move will also connect Malaysian businesses to the ASEAN region. Ultimately, ASEAN will be a more accessible region as a whole for trade and investment.

“I’m very pleased that we have been able to extend our operations in the Malaysian market,” said Lamberto Barbieri, CRIF Asia Managing Director. “Through our expertise in credit information and range of technology solutions, we are well placed to help drive business development in the region forward, together to the next level.”

Leonardo Lapalorcia July 13, 2020 0 Comments

NEWS

CRIF signs agreement for the acquition of 100% of STRANDS Inc.

Bologna (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain) March, 30 2020 – CRIF, a global company specialized in credit bureau, business information, credit and open banking solutions, announces an agreement to acquire the total shareholding of Strands, a FinTech company specialized in advanced digital banking solutions.
The closing of the deal is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Strands, based in the US, is one of the top global providers of AI-driven Business and Personal Financial Management with offices in Spain, Asia and South America.
Experts in Big Data, A.I. and Machine Learning since 2004, Strands creates highly-customizable digital money management software (BFM, PFM and more) for top-tier financial institutions worldwide, and empowers people to be smarter with their money. Moreover, Strands has carried out more than 700 implementations to date globally.
Already partners for financial management solutions, both companies have invested in advanced Open Banking and Digital Economy solutions.
The combination between Strands and CRIF will create a strong worldwide digital solutions provider in access to account, account aggregation, and AI-powered BFM and PFM solutions, with new synergies in terms of expertise, solutions and offerings. It will allow further development of an ecosystem of innovative and end-to-end open banking solutions for banks and financial institutions, helping them to evolve their offerings and to boost their business through digital channels, with a constant focus on sustainability and customer needs.
“Strands is trusted by more than 700 financial institutions and over 100 million banking consumers as a key part of the financial ecosystem, and together with CRIF can support the rapid growth of digital banking services. Strands’ mission is to enable banks to anticipate customer needs and proactively suggest next-best-actions, and we are excited about this opportunity to continue delivering on that promise”, said Erik Brieva, CEO of Strands.
“We are happy to announce the agreement for the acquisition of Strands that will allow CRIF to create a worldwide digital solutions provider for open banking. Through this deal, CRIF will combine its market knowledge and expertise with an innovative and well positioned Fintech player, creating synergies that will help our global clients to keep on growing and innovating through their digital transformation journey”, commented Carlo Gherardi, Chairman of CRIF.

Leonardo Lapalorcia April 13, 2020 0 Comments

NEWS

CLIK obtains a license to operate a private credit bureau in Indonesia

Based on existing regulations, the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) has issued a Credit Bureau License to CLIK, an affiliate of CRIF spa and joint venture company with other leading technology and service providers in the Indonesian financial industry (Valdo International, Bintang Mulia Andalan, Global Integrasi prima and Wahyu Kartu).
PT CLIK will start working with the public credit registry (PCR) data, which is currently collected by the OJK. The PCR data and updates will be regularly shared with CLIK. The PCR accounts for hundreds of millions of credit facilities contributed regularly by banks, NBFIs, MFIs, and P2P lenders.

The establishment of a credit bureau will help develop the local credit market, allowing SMEs and consumers to move to a more advanced market based on credit references. At the same time, thanks to the availability of comprehensive and updated credit information, lenders will be able to deliver financial services at significantly reduced costs and expand the credit offer to the consumer and SME segments of the economy.

“The Credit Bureau represents another important milestone for CRIF in the country’s business development strategy. Since 2013, CRIF has been operating in Indonesia, delivering analytics and software solutions to all segments of the financial industry. CRIF’s presence was consolidated in 2017 through the acquisition of PT Visi Globalindo Data Utama, one of the leading business information providers in the country”, commented Leonardo Lapalorcia, CRIF PT Managing Director.

Leonardo Lapalorcia January 7, 2020 0 Comments