Fintech Cohort Announced for Fourth Annual ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator in Little Rock, Arkansas

Eleven fintech companies have been selected to participate in the fourth annual ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program.

The program, a partnership between the Independent Community Bankers of America, The Venture Center, and the State of Arkansas, will launch on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator is designed to build partnerships between fintech companies and community banks.

"Community bank innovation requires a tremendous investment of time and resources," ICBA Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Charles Potts said. "ICBA remains dedicated to fostering community bank-fintech collaborations to help source and cultivate promising fintechs and accelerate their growth as we support our community bank members’ efforts to remain responsive to the evolving needs of their customers."

During the 16-week program, the 11 companies will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with industry leaders and community bank executives to receive feedback and guidance. The accelerator, which includes an incubator phase, will help the fintech companies refine their products/services for community bank use.

Through the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator, community banks receive access to cutting-edge financial technology and fintech innovators. The accelerator provides community bank leaders the opportunity to discuss the implications of financial technology on their banks and customers.

"The Venture Center is honored to produce the only community bank-focused accelerator program in the country with the incredible team at ICBA and with support from the state of Arkansas," The Venture Center's Executive Director Wayne Miller said. "The selection process ensures a highly impactful forum for community bankers to explore innovation, test solutions in real-world scenarios, and collaborate with growth-stage fintechs to shape the future of community banking together."

The 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH cohort includes:

• Accrue – loan origination/business and consumer account opening, integration-as-a-service
• DocFox – business account opening automation
• KlariVis – data and business intelligence
• LemonadeLXP – learning experience/digital adoption
• Quilo – instant personal lending
• Senso – proactive lead generation for retail mortgages
• Sequretek – cybersecurity 
• Signal Intent – next generation financial guidance
• Unifimoney – investing and money management
• Vero Technologies – inventory finance platform for small- to medium-businesses
• WealthStack – small- to medium-business focused financial wellness platform

The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator will kick off in January and run through March. In March, the fintech companies will present their pitches to community bankers across the United States during a virtual ICBA ThinkTECH Demo Day and during ICBA ThinkTECH Showcase.

Launched in 2018, the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator is one of two fintech accelerators, along with the FIS Fintech Accelerator, run by The Venture Center in Arkansas. ICBA renewed its commitment to the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator in 2020 for an additional three years.

Arkansas has become increasingly prominent in the fintech industry in recent years. In 2020, The Venture Center won the Best Fintech Accelerator/Incubator award at the Finovate Awards in recognition of its work with the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator and the FIS Fintech Accelerator.