CALGARY, Alberta–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Two Calgary-based fintech companies, Fillip and Miq, were announced as the winners of the inaugural Digital Commerce Bank Calgary Fintech Award on October 14, 2022. The winners cumulatively took home over $300,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes.
The Calgary Fintech Award is North America’s largest fintech award offered through a partnership between Digital Commerce Bank (DCBank) and Platform Calgary. DCBank has committed $1 million over 4 years to support fintech startups through the Calgary Fintech Award. Band Capital Partners contributed $60,000 this year, which funded the runner-up prize.
The award champions and celebrates fintech companies that demonstrate clear innovation and a strong value proposition for the Calgary region through job creation, economic growth and diversification.
In its first year, 45 fintech startups from across Canada applied for the award and 24 were selected to participate in the program. In addition to competing for the non-dilutive cash prize, participants benefited from 3 months of fintech-specific workshops, mentoring sessions with world-class advisors, pitch coaching and business evaluation. In early October, 11 finalists were selected and further narrowed down to the top 5 finalists including: Credit App, Fillip, Miq, PayShepherd and The Smart Benefit by YRPlans, who put the final pitches live at the Platform Calgary Innovation Center for a judging panel of fintech experts and entrepreneurs from across Canada.
Fillip, the first digital payment platform built for corporate fleets to empower drivers to pay for fuel and maintenance expenses with a secure digital wallet, was awarded first place at $250,000. “For us and for Calgary, this award is an opportunity to shine – to demonstrate to the world that Calgary is the best place to start, scale and succeed in technology and business,” says Alice Reimer, CEO of Fillip.
Miq, a financial platform that enables community co-ops to pool funds, save and build credit, was awarded the runner-up prize of $60,000. “We saw the opportunity to leverage the ecosystem and be part of the Calgary community,” said Jonah Chininga.
“In the first year of the Calgary Fintech Award, we saw an impressive number of quality entrants. We look forward to continuing to support the Canadian fintech community and give back to our industry and community,” said Jeffrey Smith, CEO of DC Bank and founder of the Calgary Fintech Award.
Platform Calgary
Platform Calgary is an impact organization whose members are technology companies large and small, united in a vision of inclusive, innovation-driven prosperity for Calgary. Platform Calgary brings together the resources of Calgary’s tech ecosystem to help startups launch and grow at every step of the journey, from ideation to scale. The focus is to make all parts of Calgary’s startup ecosystem better resourced, connected, efficient and prominent.
For more information about Platform Calgary, visit: platformcalgary.com
Digital Handelsbank
Digital Commerce Bank is a Canadian Schedule 1 bank with a focus on technology and delivers robust and secure payment technologies. The bank’s technology-driven platform provides innovative payment and banking solutions to business customers, so that businesses can offer their own financial and payment solutions. The bank’s proprietary banking-as-a-service and payment solutions, as well as simple APIs, offer customers efficiency, flexibility and convenience when it comes to integrating services directly into a business’s product. The bank is a member of Payments Canada, and is a principal member of Interac, Visa and MasterCard.
For more information about Digital Commerce Bank, please visit www.dcbank.ca
