Zilliqa, the Singapore-based high-performance, enterprise-grade blockchain platform has announced its 2021-2022 cohort of ZILHive Accelerator projects. The ZILHive Accelerator is a six-month programme focused on launching blockchain-enabled projects from concept to commercialization.
The accelerator programme is part of ZILHive’s end-to-end ecosystem designed to foster innovative blockchain applications throughout various stages of maturity. Startups in the accelerator will be able to apply for additional funding under ZILHive Grants, aimed at supporting specific pre-launch needs such as regulatory compliance or technical integration with third-party apps.
Han Wen Chua, Vice President of Ecosystem Growth at Zilliqa, commented: “The tremendous progress the startups have made in turning their ideas into real world use cases for blockchain is a validation of our efforts at growing Singapore’s role in the global fintech ecosystem.”
Six of the eight startups accepted into the Accelerator this year were advanced from an earlier Incubator programme which began in March. The inaugural 14-week ZILHive Incubator matched technical and non-technical participants into teams that could design and build innovative solutions on the Zilliqa blockchain protocol.
The eight startups accepted into the Accelerator include:
– Access, a startup that looks to combat ticketing fraud and prevent ticket scalping by issuing tickets as non-fungible tokens;
– Cerchia, a startup building blockchain-based tools to help catastrophe bond issuers, re-insurers, and investors better predict and price the risks of natural hazards through crowdsourcing;
– Green Beanz, a project that aims to incentivise consumer-facing companies and NGOs to improve the transparency and accuracy of their corporate social responsibility and sustainable development goals reporting;
– HeyAlfie, a smart dashboard for users to manage, invest and borrow digital assets through a single interface, by connecting multiple types of wallets (custodial, non-custodial, and even exchange accounts);
– Invopay, an invoice financing platform designed to help small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) better manage their cash-flow with low-interest loans secured on the blockchain;
– MustPool, a gamified no-loss prize protocol, where the deposited principle remains safe and the prizes come from the interest earnings, leveraging different staking and lending dApps on Zilliqa;
– Tyron SSI Protocol, a self-sovereign identity protocol that enables users to manage access to their data securely, while allowing them to provide verified credentials selectively without relying on middlemen or centralized databases;
– Ultimate Franchise Fantasy Sports, a fantasy sports platform offering digital asset ownership to sports fans through the use of NFTs to represent athletes in the various sports leagues.
The startups accepted into the Accelerator feature founders from diverse backgrounds – from enterprising college students to seasoned industry professionals. “The diversity of the participants graduating from the incubator and into the accelerator programme highlight the importance of having a comprehensive suite of programmes, each tailored to the different stages of an innovator’s journey,” noted Chua.
Access founder Mihir Mohan said, “From the design sprints with the ZILHive team to the valuable advice I’ve gained from experienced professionals during the Incubator programme, ZILHive’s programmes have helped me turn my ideas into a viable product.” Mohan first joined ZILHive through its student practicum and later started Access during the incubator programme.
Projects such as Cerchia, on the other hand, were founded by seasoned industry professionals. Led by a founding team of quants and risk managers from the likes of financial institutions such as UBS and GIC, Cerchia’s chief technical officer Fabian Buchmann said, “The ZILHive Incubator was a great opportunity to enlarge our network and increase the team’s expertise significantly with their complementary skill sets. The development of a minimum viable product during the incubator has prepared us to launch the product on the Zilliqa protocol during the upcoming accelerator programme.”
ZILHive has also appealed to traditional businesses looking to generate new revenue models by implementing emerging technologies into their existing tech stack. Judobi is looking to launch Invopay, its new invoice financing platform, via the ZILHive Accelerator.
Julien Doherty-Bigara, CEO of Judobi, said: “The ZILHive Incubator has opened up a new chapter in my entrepreneurial journey by partnering my team with great co-founders to solve a real problem using blockchain. The incubator itself helped us to conceptualise and validate our idea and we’re now looking forward to powering the growth of Invopay with the ZILHive Accelerator programme.”
The ZILHive Accelerator programme will culminate in a worldwide Demo Day in December 2021, where outstanding projects stand the chance to receive up to US$150,000 in growth capital from ZILHive Ventures, Zilliqa’s internal venture fund.
About ZILHive
ZILHive is Zilliqa’s ecosystem growth arm which supports entrepreneurs and developers as they build their solutions on Zilliqa’s high-performance, high-security blockchain and smart contract platform. ZILHive comprises three pillars: Education, which focuses on upskilling professionals and students through customised blockchain courses developed in partnership with educational institutions; Grants, a funding programme which offers strategic, personalised guidance to early-stage start-ups; and Accelerator, an initiative that provides technical tutorship and mentorship to drive growth across the Zilliqa network. Enabled by this three-pronged ecosystem effort, ZILHive is driven by a mission to build a holistic global community of developer and entrepreneurial talent. To date, ZILHive has supported over 70 projects from over 20 countries.
For more information, visit: zilhive.org