Today, 10 companies join Start Path, Mastercard’s award-winning startup engagement program. These startups were handpicked from around the world based on their unique expertise in high-growth sectors within the payment technology industry and will participate in the next Emerging Fintech cohort.
Five of the startups joining the newest cohort revealed their forthcoming program participation during NYC Climate Week in September, while also showcasing their dedication to advancing sustainability impact data calculations. The five additional startups joining this cohort are focused on harnessing emerging technologies to tackle cyber threats, driving convenience in the digital economy, and automating the future of travel.
Meet the Emerging Fintechs
Enabling an ecosystem with impact data to facilitate more sustainable consumption:
AWorld (Italy) engages people and organizations through gamification and AI, helping them adopt more sustainable practices.
“As I witnessed the growing challenges of climate change and social inequality, I felt compelled to create a platform that empowers individuals and organizations to take meaningful action,” says Alex Armillotta, CEO and co-founder of AWorld. “My vision for AWorld is to leverage technology and engagement to inspire a global movement towards sustainability, driving impactful change on a personal and systemic level.”
Footprint Lab (Australia) helps any fintech, anywhere, add sustainability analytics to their service offering through a global comprehensive environmental footprint database.
“The way we spend, lend and invest ultimately determines whether we stay within 1.5 degrees of climate change,” says Janet Salem, Co-Founder, FootprintLab. “Our vision is that climate solutions will scale up in time if every financial decision is made with awareness of its contribution to climate change.”
HowGood (U.S.) operates a SaaS data platform for independent research with the world’s largest database on food product sustainability.
“Sustainability data has historically been inaccessible and under-researched, HowGood set out to change that as the catalyst to changing the way supply chain decisions are made,” says Alexander Gillett, CEO & Co-Founder, HowGood. “Our vision for the future is to empower food and beverage companies to be equipped with the information they need to source ingredients, formulate recipes, and report on impact reduction with ease, all with the health of our planet as their north star. “
Reewild (U.K.) incentivizes sustainable consumer choices through an eco-rewards app.
“Reewild works with dozens of brands and retailers, building solutions that reward sustainable consumption and help decouple emissions growth from corporate growth,” says Freddie Lintell, Founder & CEO of Reewild. “Our ambitious vision to drive mass green behavioural change across a community of businesses and individuals is taking shape. Looking forward, we aim to create a global eco-rewards system that drives sustainable purchasing choices at scale.”
Vaayu (Germany) helps calculate climate impact within the retail industry.
“I saw a critical gap in the market for real-time impact-tracking, speeding up reduction at scale, Climate change is the biggest threat our planet faces — only by working together can we move the needle,” says Namrata Sandhu the Co-Founder and CEO of Vaayu. “Vaayu’s goal is to provide all businesses in the retail ecosystem with the tools and expertise to manage and lower their impact. Since co-founding Vaayu in 2020, we have onboarded more than 100 global brand partners, each trying to make a difference in the world.”
Harnessing emerging technologies to tackle cyber threats:
Lasso (Israel) pioneers cybersecurity solutions for Large Language Models (LLMs), addressing the evolving challenges businesses face as they embrace this transformative technology.
“Fintech is handling more sensitive data and making high-stakes decisions than ever before, and protecting that data is essential for the future of trust in GenAI-driven finance,” says Elad Schulman, CEO & Co-Founder Lasso Security. “Our vision at Lasso is to build best-in-class security solutions that allow companies to harness the full power of GenAI safely and responsibly, ensuring a secure foundation for growth and innovation.”
Urban Fox (Ireland) offers an AI powered anti-fraud platform that helps online retailers detect and stop the most complex forms of fraud.
“Fintech is incredibly fast moving and has shown that it is a pillar of an interconnected world, yet we are falling behind with our ability to detect bad actors, that is why I founded UrbanFox,” says Daniel Loftus, Founder & CEO at UrbanFox. “We believe UrbanFox has the ability to protect consumers and retailers whilst making the internet a safer place to do business.”
Driving unparalleled convenience in the digital economy:
Bankingly (Uruguay) accelerates financial health and inclusion with financial institutions through digital experiences.
“Fintech can be a great social mobility platform both for people and businesses,” says Martin Naor, Founder and CEO of Bankingly. “Bringing first class digital financial services to previously unserved and underserved customers is what fuels my own and Bankingly’s mission to enable financial health and inclusion for all.”
Uvicuo (Mexico) empowers businesses by streamlining expenses and financial processes in one AI-enabled spend management platform.
“Our passion comes from helping industries and businesses that have traditionally been left behind by modern technology,” says Iker Haro, CEO of Uvicuo. “Our vision is to empower these companies with intuitive and innovative financial solutions, ensuring they have the tools to thrive and compete in the future.”
Automating the future of travel:
Inovat (U.K.) provides a seamless, digital solution for tourists to claim tax refunds, leveraging cutting-edge technology and partnerships for ultimate convenience.
“Year after year, we would claim tax refunds and be overwhelmed by mountains of paper – invoices, forms and all other paper things for a simple tax refund. So, we decided to take matters into our own hands and build a digital solution,” says Ilya Melkumov, CEO of Inovat. “Our vision is to eliminate this needless waste and empower businesses to operate sustainably, making paper-heavy processes a thing of the past.”
Co-Creating with Partners to Drive Innovation at Scale
Partnership has always been in Mastercard’s DNA. As one of the core growth muscles for partnerships at Mastercard, Start Path creates opportunities to co-innovate products and solutions in alignment with the company’s strategic priorities.
Beyond Start Path, Mastercard powers many other partnership-driven initiatives. To name a few recent ones from the sustainability, cybersecurity, digital transformation and travel sectors: Mastercard agreed to acquire global threat intelligence company Recorded Future to complement its existing suite of cyber resilience services, launched virtual cards with HSBC Australia and Westpac to simplify travel and business expenses, announced a new Payment Passkey Servicepiloting in India with major payment players to accelerate secure online checkout, and enhanced the Sustainable Consumption Index in partnership with Doconomy to further inform businesses’ and governments’ carbon emissions reduction strategies.
10 Years of Start Path
This year marks a decade since the inception of Start Path. The program has helped scale businesses and drive sustainable growth across the industry, curating a portfolio of more than 400 startups from more than 50 countries that have collectively raised north of $25 billion in post-program capital. Mastercard has brokered more than 15,000 connections to get startups in front of an audience of venture capitalists, financial institutions and governments which, in turn, helps make the digital economy stronger, safer and more inclusive. Many Start Path companies today are reaching unicorn status and exploring extended commercial engagements with Mastercard and its customers.
For more information on Mastercard Start Path, check out the website here.
SOURCE – MASTERCARD
