Fintech software provider Temenos (SIX: TEMN) has partnered with The Venture lab at The American University in Cairo (AUC Venture Lab) a prominent startup accelerator in Africa and the MENA region. Temenos will support Fintech innovation in Egypt by providing startups with access to their core banking solution to be used as their development environment.
Temenos says they will provide a sandbox service to the startups utilizing the accelerator. This sandbox, a non-production cloud-based version of the T24 core banking system, will enable startups to integrate their solutions with banking data and functionality as well as to test them for scalability and robustness. It will also allow them to plug into the 11 major financial institutions in Egypt already running Temenos T24.
It is envisaged that the AUC Venture Lab would play host to Temenos events, such as the upcoming “Meet the Marketplace” in October.
Jean-Paul Mergeai, Regional Director Temenos Middle East & Africa at Temenos said they are excited to be working with the AUC Venture Lab in accelerating and empowering digital innovation in Egypt.
“The Egyptian market is currently in an ideal position to take advantage of a rich fintech ecosystem that will help drive digital transformation across the banking industry,” added Mergeai. “At Temenos, we are proud to help make this a reality and deliver value to the growing number of Egyptian banks, which take advantage of our solutions and our partnerships with leading fintech firms both globally and regionally. Innovation is part of our DNA and the Temenos MarketPlace was founded on the notion of bringing together banks and fintechs in a win-win situation. I am optimistic that our partnership with AUC Venture Lab will continue to foster the spirit of innovation in Egypt and help to pave the way for fintech startups for years to come.”
Ayman Ismail, Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at AUC’s School of Business and Director of AUC Venture Lab, said that Fintech has the ability to transform the financial services industry and they understand the challenges startups face in gaining traction. Ismail described the partnership as a path to accelerate the development cycle in the Egyptian market.