BME and BBF Fintech to stage sustainable finance hackathon

The first hackathon focused on the fintech and insurtech world at an international level, concentrating on sustainable finance, will be hosted in Bilbao.

The ‘Hack & Disrupt!’ event will take place on 25, 26 and 27 June, and is organised by BME and BBF Fintech. The event aims to bring together companies, entrepreneurs and startups to solve global technological challenges as a team. 

The event, which is sponsored by BBK, Plaza Financiera Bilbao and SIX's startup accelerator, F10, wants to connect entrepreneurs and businesses to re-imagine finance and insurance through digitalisation. The challenges that participants will be facing are geared towards innovation and sustainable finance. 

Due to the pandemic, the event will be held in a hybrid format, combining a face-to-face part, at the BBF Bilbao Berrikuntza Faktoria, and through a technological platform, which will feature different stands, chats and workrooms. The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as various panels related to the entrepreneurial world and the fintech and insurtech ecosystem, will be streamed from the platform.

What will happen at the event?

The opening will reflect on innovation in the securities markets and then afterwards there will be a panel discussion on sustainability. Challenges will be introduced on Friday evening, and the teams will start working on their resolution until Sunday 27th. Saturday 26th features presentations by several experts, including Berta Ares, General Manager of BME Inntech, and Manuel Ardanza, Chairman of the Bilbao stock exchange.

The winners, which will be announced on Sunday, will be eligible for three prizes: a prospection trip to Switzerland, where they will be able to get to know its fintech ecosystem in detail, the possibility of participating in the incubation Programme and in BBF Fintech’s II Open Innovation Programme, the public-private fintech incubator promoted by Bizkaia’s provincial council, Bilbao’s City Hall, the University of Mondragón and Dominion, as well as direct access to the final interview to participate in the F10 incubation and acceleration programme.

Javier Hernani, CEO of BME, believes that BME's presence at this event reaffirms the company's commitment to digitalisation, innovation and the promotion of SMEs and disruptive startups, which adds to other initiatives, such as the Pre-Market Environment. "Today's startups can be tomorrow's stock market blue chips," he stated. “We also reiterate our support for Bilbao as an innovative financial centre, where BME closely follows the entrepreneurial ecosystem”, he added.