Techstars & Western Union Accelerator Announce 2020 Class Leading the Future of Inclusive Finance
Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, and Techstars, the global platform for investment and innovation, today announced the launch of its second class of the Techstars & Western Union Accelerator. From machine learning and artificial intelligence, to cloud services, digital banking and advanced analytics, the common thread across the portfolio of 10 companies is their commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to create greater access to global and local economies, through inclusive finance.
The 2020 Accelerator companies are led by founders originating from across the world, including the Philippines, Egypt, Gambia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Israel, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, South Africa and the United States. They share Western Union’s commitment to inclusive innovation by developing products and services that accelerate access for a more equitable global financial system.
The concept of financial access served as the North Star throughout the 2020 Accelerator selection process, as program leaders contemplated the question: In the face of a global health crisis, which companies are best positioned to accelerate and expand financial access in a post-COVID world?
The startup founders will participate in an intensive 13-week virtual program during which they will focus on growing and evolving their companies with the mentorship, entrepreneurial expertise, business strategy and marketing guidance of fintech subject matter experts in a range of areas, including compliance, mobile wallets and settlement.
“The Western Union team is tremendously impressed with this diverse group of founders and entrepreneurs who are actively addressing challenges across the financial services ecosystem,” said Western Union President of Product and Platform, Shelly Swanback. “I am confident that the breadth of perspective, experience and technologies represented in this year’s portfolio will drive us to be even more disruptive as we endeavor to develop more inclusive financial services and payment technologies in a rapidly changing global economy.”
Swanback added, “I am especially proud of the fact that many of the companies in the accelerator are led by founders from many different countries, which nicely reflects the global diversity of our employee, customer and partner base. A global lens is critical as we look to create opportunities for billions of people to access the latest innovations in finance, innovate opportunities for businesses and customers, and help close the growing inequality gap.”
According to the New American Economy, a U.S.-based bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on federal, state, and local immigration policies, in 2019 approximately 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
“We are proud to announce the companies selected to participate in the 2020 Techstars & Western Union Accelerator,” said Ethan Austin, Managing Director of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator. “Each of these companies is tackling systemic industry obstacles with innovative and original solutions using leading edge technologies. We are excited to support their continued growth over the next 13 weeks of our program and beyond.”
The 2020 Techstars & Western Union Accelerator will culminate with a Demo Day on Oct. 8, where startup founders will pitch their products and services to potential investors. This year, the program has shifted from an in-person to virtual program due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2006, Techstars has worked with more than 2,000 startups, forging deep and meaningful relationships between young startup companies and global corporations. The competitive selection process for the Techstars & Western Union Accelerator began in early 2020 with hundreds of entrepreneurs vying for one of 10 coveted spots.
Techstars and Western Union extend a hearty congratulations and a warm welcome to the 2020 Techstars & Western Union Accelerator companies.
|
2020 Techstars Western Union Accelerator Roster
|
||||
|
AidBanc Little Rock, AR | USA and LA
AidBanc empowers NGOs with digital banking and spend management tools to seamlessly disburse aid in an increasingly cashless world.
|
Plentina San Francisco, CA | USA Cloud services provide alternative credit scoring and lending for global financial inclusion. |
|||
|
Gig Wage Dallas, TX | USA Gig Wage is a payments platform specializing in independent contractors. Their technology makes it simple, fast and easy to pay, manage, and support contractors. |
Rise Capital Lagos, Nigeria A technology-driven finance company connecting everyday Africans with the best dollar-denominated investment opportunities around the world. |
|||
|
Heights Labs New York, NY | USA AI and network analytics platform for risk, fraud, compliance, and AML/CFT to mitigate risks and threats across the compliance, intelligence, and national security landscape. |
Robbie AI Boston, MA | USA Facial recognition technology through real-time streaming in natural settings. |
|||
|
Line San Francisco, CA | USA
AI-powered technology helps qualified and banked individuals establish credit and access to affordable financial services.
|
Vested Finance Berkeley, CA | USA Investment advisory platform promoting sustainable wealth creation by empowering local Indian investors to go global. |
|||
|
Logicluster San Francisco, CA | USA An Artificial Intelligence powered pricing engine to enable businesses to grow revenue through optimized pricing. |
Yunit Oakland, CA | USA Allows users to save money with their friends. |
|||
WU-G
About Techstars
Techstars is a global platform for investment and innovation. Techstars founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporations to grow their companies. Techstars operates three divisions: Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs, Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships, and Techstars Community. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 2,200 companies with a market cap of more than $26 billion. www.techstars.com
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of March 31, 2020, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering our branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts.
Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2019, is available in over 75 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends, and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200714005456/en/
Contact information
Western Union
Margaret Fogarty
+1 720-551-3393
Margaret.Fogarty@wu.com
Techstars
Ali Donnermeyer
Ali.Donnermeyer@techstars.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
LambdaTest and SVAM International Inc. Announce Partnership to Transform Quality Engineering for Businesses26.11.2025 19:00:00 EET | Press release
LambdaTest, a Gen-AI native quality engineering platform, announced a partnership with SVAM International, Inc., a global leader in digital transformation services. This strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in their mission to transform quality engineering for businesses worldwide. The partnership allows LambdaTest to extend its AI-native quality engineering capabilities into SVAM’s extensive digital transformation ecosystem. By integrating with SVAM’s experience in large-scale application development, testing, and delivery across major New York State and City agencies, as well as their platform expertise across Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Dynamics365, LambdaTest will empower more enterprises to modernize their software delivery pipelines. With LambdaTest’s intelligent test orchestration and execution engine at the core, teams can test smarter, accelerate release cycles, and achieve faster time-to-market at scale. Founded in 2017, LambdaTest is headquartered in San Franc
GLORY Acquires Remaining Equity Shares in Acrelec Group26.11.2025 17:11:00 EET | Press release
Glory Global Solutions (International) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GLORY Ltd. [TYO:6457], has announced the acquisition of the remaining equity shares in Acrelec Group SAS. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251126039437/en/ Acrelec is a global technology company focused on reinventing the customer experience for restaurant and retail brands. Leveraging decades of software, hardware and service expertise, the company develops and integrates new platforms that increase customer engagement, optimize efficiency and improve operations. With over 120,000 installations across more than 70 countries, Acrelec counts many of the world’s best-known restaurant mega-brands among its customers. We announce that Jalel Souissi has left the Acrelec Group following the completion of the recent share acquisition. Jalel Souissi has played a pivotal role in the development and success of Acrelec, serving as Co-Founder and Co-C
Cegid Acquires Shine to Accelerate the Path of Becoming Europe's Leading Financial Copilot for SMBs and Accountants26.11.2025 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Cegid, a European leader in cloud software for finance, accounting, HR, and retail software, and Shine, a fast-growing European fintech unicorn providing digital business accounts and payments, e-invoicing, accounting, and payroll software to small businesses across Europe, announced today that the companies have entered a definitive agreement to join forces to form a European champion and become a leading provider of software for businesses and their accountants. This transformational combination will create the first fully integrated, cloud-native and AI-driven financial hub for SMBs and accounting professionals in Europe – bringing together market-leading capabilities in e-invoicing, accounting, digital business accounts and payments, tax, HR, and payroll in a single unified platform. Accelerating Cegid’s European growth strategy by serving more than one million SMBs, and 15,000 accountants Shine brings to Cegid more than 400,000 SMB customers, a strong brand, and a highly scalable
U.S. FDA Grants Priority Review to Sonrotoclax for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma26.11.2025 13:00:00 EET | Press release
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and granted Priority Review to a New Drug Application (NDA) for sonrotoclax, a next-generation BCL2 inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), following treatment with a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. “Sonrotoclax is advancing with remarkable speed, from Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Priority Review, all within a short window,” said Lai Wang, Ph.D., Global Head of R&D at BeOne. “That pace reflects both the strength of the data and the urgency of the need for patients with R/R MCL. With rapid, deep, and durable responses and a manageable safety profile, sonrotoclax is emerging as a potential best-in-class BCL2 inhibitor, alongside our two other transformative hematology assets – BTK inhibitor BRUKINSA, and investigational BTK degrader BGB-16
Modon Holding Announces a Strategic Investment in Wellington Lifestyle Partners, Expanding Its Global Portfolio in Luxury Lifestyle Destination Development26.11.2025 12:15:00 EET | Press release
Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding P.S.C (“Modon”) today announced a strategic investment in Wellington Lifestyle Partners (“WLP”), joining a consortium of existing investors in the company. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251125937208/en/ Aerial shot of Wellington International (Photo: AETOSWire) Modon’s investment will support the long-term development of Wellington International equestrian showgrounds and deliver a landmark ultra-luxury real estate development featuring high-end residences, a boutique hotel, a commercial marketplace and a championship golf course located in Wellington, Florida – a global icon of equestrian sport. This investment marks Modon’s first direct investment in an equestrian led development in the United States, complementing its existing global portfolio, and reinforcing its strategy to partner with leading international organisations in expanding its presence across ultra-luxury destin
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom