BNP Paribas fires up new investment fund for start-ups
More help is on the way for fintech and insurtech start-ups with the unleashing of a new fund by BNP Paribas.
The fund will be managed by BNP Paribas Capital Partners, an arm of BNP Paribas Asset Management that specialises in selection and multi-management in the alternative investments field.
Jacques d’Estais, BNP Paribas group deputy COO and head of international financial services, says the fund “will give added firepower to our investment strategy, complements the other initiatives we’ve already set in motion, including our partnership with Plug and Play, our Station F space and our Startup Engagement Kit”.
The fund will take direct minority stakes, on behalf of the various BNP Paribas’ businesses, in financial services and insurance start-ups.
It will also make indirect investments through venture capital (VC) funds in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), data, blockchain and cybersecurity.
BNP Paribas reminds people that several investments have been already made over the last year, including in Serena Data Venture, Viola Fintech and Ventech China.
Marco Polo and Luxembourg
In other and recent news, BNP Paribas has been active.
It was one of the big names involved in a new blockchain-fuelled trade finance initiative called Marco Polo. Since launching in September 2017, with BNP, Commerzbank and ING as core banks, the initiative has attracted interest from others, with additional banks including Standard Chartered, DNB, and OP Financial Group joining in recent months.
Prior to that, BGL BNP Paribas said it was buying all the outstanding shares in ABN Amro (Luxembourg) and its fully owned subsidiary ABN Amro Life as the latter sees no future for its wealthtech business in the country.
