For FinTechs who are seeking to accelerate with hands-on support from the Cedar-IBSi ecosystem
About Moonshot Accelerator
A 12-week intense FinTech accelerator program to launch your product(s) and get funding ready.
This program by Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab (CIFL) will support a cohort of 6 to 8 startups at the idea, pre-seed, and seed stages.
Moonshot delivers unparalleled access to 60+ years of advisory expertise and global research insights in financial services. We aim to empower FinTechs, coupling strategic insights with funding support for your journey to success.
Who is it for?
Idea stage startups developing/ validating an MVP
Startups founded in or after 2019
Startups headquartered in India
BankTech focused startups
BankTech Focus Areas
- Digital channels, customer lifecycle management, and onboarding
- Digital lending
- Digital payments and cards
- Wealth management & private banking
- Lending and risk management
- Digital automation & channels
- Cash management
- Trade finance and supply chain
- Treasury and liquidity
- RegTech
- Universal banking
Why should you join?
01
Funding
Cedar-IBSi Capital (SEBI AIF) will offer early-stage funding during or after demo day to graduating startups that meet KPI goals and milestones defined at the start of the program.
02
Support
Hands-on support to build your FinTech with access to subject matter experts and in-house mentorship from Cedar-IBSi.
03
Network
Access to Cedar-IBSi’s network of 800+ global banks and financial institutions as your potential partners.
04
Knowledge
Leverage Cedar-IBSi’s 60+ years of consulting insights from the BankTech and FinTech industry.
05
Access
Access 10,000+ pages of proprietary IBSi research, including FinTech player profiles, use-case repositories, market reports, annual rankings, and leaderboards.
06
Strategy
Sessions with industry leaders for devising product, go-to-market, branding, and customer strategy.
07
Resources
$21,000 worth of total technology credits available for your startup.
Program Timeline
Program Structure
The 12-week program is divided into three phases. In-person sessions will be conducted twice in each phase, with weekly check-ins throughout the acceleration journey.
Knowledge Forge
- Onboarding & Expectation Setting
- Goal & KPI Setting
- Business Fundamentals & Strategy
Innovation Sprint
- Leadership, legal, and team building
- Cedar-IBSi's Bankers' Network
- Technology & Scale-up
- Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers Network
Take-off
- Fundraising Fundamentals
- Goal & KPI Evaluation
Track weekly progress and identify potential roadblocks
Need-based interaction with Mentors, user-feedbacks, and customer introductions
Program Structure
The 12-week program is divided into three phases. In-person sessions will be conducted twice in each phase, with weekly check-ins throughout the acceleration journey.
Knowledge Forge
- Onboarding & Expectation Setting
- Goal & KPI Setting
- Business Fundamentals & Strategy
Innovation Sprint
- Leadership, legal, and team building
- Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers’ Network
- Technology & Scale-up
- Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers Network
Take-off
- Fundraising Fundamentals
- Goal & KPI Evaluation
Weekly check-ins with the Program Management Team
Track weekly progress and identify potential roadblocks
Need-based interaction with Mentors, user-feedbacks, and customer introductions
FinTech Lab Team
Investments Team
In-house FinTech Experts & Scouts (+50 more)
For FinTechs seeking to accelerate with hands-on support from the Cedar-IBSi ecosystem
Testimonials
"The lab team have arranged our meetings with senior management from banks and involved our consultants in insightful panel discussions. This has helped us in showcasing our product portfolio to banks, increasing our brand visibility and thought leadership. Our experience with them has been beneficial and I would highly recommend them."
Sairus Bapooji
Senior Vice President
"The lab not only provides us an opportunity to connect and showcase our capabilities with our prospects and customers, but also serves as a platform for exchange of emerging trends and innovations in the Banking and Financial Services industry"
S. Sundararajan
Chief Executive Officer
"As an industry leader both in the areas of QA/QE space and having pioneered a number of innovations in the areas of digital, we have found the Cedar-IBSI FinTech lab to be a good platform for us to present our use cases."
Balaji Viswanathan
Managing Director
"We are happy to be members of the Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab at Dubai. It provides a wonderful gateway to the MENA market. The activities that are planned for the cohort are immensely useful and the team is well experienced and connected. Looking forward to a great journey ahead for us in the MENA region through the active support of Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab."
Dharmarajan S.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
"Miles Software has been working with Cedar-IBSi for almost 8 years now. We really liked their services which helped us to connect with potential customers, share view on market and improve company visibility via conference meeting, podcast, interview etc. They have helped us improve business in Middle East."
Dhaval Patel
Assistant Vice President Product
"Lab has been an effective forum to showcase our enterprise fraud management product - Clari5's prowess to the decision-making banking leaders community. Cedar's regular thought leadership communication initiatives have been quite beneficial for building brand awareness and attract quality leads."
Naresh Kurup
Chief Brand Officer
"Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab provides us with an opportunity to engage with experts within the BFSI domain to provide their insights on the emerging trends and innovations. It also provides an opportunity to showcase our prowess as Testing/QA experts whist showcasing our innovation capabilities"
Zoeb Madraswala
Director
Frequently Asked Questions
It will be a hybrid program with in-person physical sessions at regular intervals, usually bi-weekly. It is mandatory to attend these sessions in person in Mumbai.
Yes, working full-time on the startup is a mandatory criterion for the program.
Yes, a pitch deck/business plan is mandatory to apply for the program.
- 6-8 shortlisted companies will be given access to Cedar-IBSi’s internal partner network consisting of subject matter experts in Banking, BankTech, and FinTech.
- CIFL will also invite an external panel of mentors/advisors comprising bankers, BFSI subject matter experts, FinTech BankTech founders, and many more.
- You can start by filling out the application form, which consists of basic questions about the founders and company.
- The CIFL team will review the applications and select the top 20 companies based on the yes/no questions in the application form.
- Selected 20 companies will be invited to Mumbai for the pitch day, where the founders will pitch their startup to a jury panel of 12-13 panelists. The startups will be further evaluated on key criteria, including founder and team experience and diversity, traction, product USP, market opportunity, business model, and target market opportunities.
- At the end of pitch day, 6-8 companies will be selected to attend the program.
No, CIFL will not charge any fees from the shortlisted companies.
No, only the founding team will be allowed to attend the program.
Yes, even if there is no funding requirement, the panel sessions would be beneficial for founders to build their company and product.
Send us an email at: info@cedaribsifintechlab.com