FAQ
- Partnership opportunities with potential clients and partners across Visa’s global network
- Market access and potential client base
- Masterclasses, design sprints, PoC and pilot support and peer to peer gatherings for practical knowledge exchange
- Diverse mentor network involving Visa, Eleven, Hackquarters and our community partners Endeavor, Finnovating, Portugal Fintech Association, Talent Garden as well as global fintech industry luminaries and bank experts
- Access to global VCs and angel investors
- Networking and exposure to international events and conferences
- Latest APIs from Visa Developers Platform to supercharge your product
- Investment opportunity by Eleven, considered on a case-by-case basis.
The whole program continues for about 6 months.
Pre-program phase
The Selection Jury will review your application to get acquainted with your product / solution and team, and will evaluate potential matches with Visa/Visa Clients. It will also do an active scouting to find prospective candidates. In case initial fit is identified, you might be invited to an interview – the main objective is to validate your interest in participating in the Program and examine the mutual interest for further collaboration throughout the Program Core Phase.
Core program phase (3 + 3)
Main course (up to 3 months)
During the Main course of the Program (up to 3 months; non-residential), you will enter a carefully crafted bunch of workshops, mentoring sessions, networking and design sprints, anchoring Visa’s design thinking methodology and will work to elevate your business model to better fit the defined market challenges. The Program’s objective is to have you at a perfect shape and ready to examine future pilot opportunities with Visa/ Visa Clients with your product/solution being integrated into their offering.
PoC Support (up to 3 months)
After the Main course, you will be entering in the PoC Support phase (another 3 months), where the Program mentors in residence will guide you to approach the proof-of-concept (PoC) phase faster. You will be working side by side with experienced entrepreneurs who will help you to navigate with speed and ease the enterprise environment.
Post-program engagement
After the end of the Core program, you might be selected by Visa/Visa Client to launch a pilot. No matter the outcome, you will become part of our Visa Innovation Program family where we will further engage your team in community activities, bringing many business opportunities and fellow entrepreneurs for mutual support.
Since the program is non-residential and does not require your team’s presence daily, we do not offer free coworking space.
Nevertheless, we have partners in our Program Hubs who could offer discounted prices for their coworking services.
No. We can’t offer any accommodation options for the participants.
Still, we may recommend some trusted service providers for finding long-term or short-term accommodation.
Not as part of the program. Eleven may optionally invest in companies that are seeking financing and are the right fit for Eleven. Other than that, there is a VC panel, consisting of some of the most prominent investors from Europe, who you’ll have a chance to meet and pitch to.
No. We take no equity in the participating startups. Eleven may offer an investment to companies that are raising a financing round on a case-by-case basis.
We do strongly believe that a capable team is what makes or breaks a successful startup company. Thus, we are looking for teams with diverse skillset, market expertise and entrepreneurial spirit.
The program is completely free of charge for the participating companies and there is NO fee or equity stakeholding associated with taking part in the activities.
They are available here.
The activities associated with the Visa Innovation Program take place primarily online and in our Program Hubs in Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Spain, Italy or Portugal.
- Startups and scale ups having a market-tested solution
- An experienced team with an entrepreneurial spirit
- A solution addressing one of our ‘areas to reinvent
- Committed and dedicated founders, ready to lead future pilot-centred project
The Visa Innovation Program is a collaborative initiative between Visa, Eleven and Hackquarters and our local community partners – Endeavor (for Greece, Cyprus and Malta), Finnovating (for Spain), Portugal Fintech Association (for Portugal) and Talent Garden (for Italy).
As a general rule, we believe the most successful startups will be easily scalable and can target global markets. In the beginning, you may be piloting with national clients, but we are looking for global growth ambition.
No, the Visa Innovation Program does not provide any monetary prizes or grants to the participants. However, selected participants may have the opportunity to collaborate with Visa on future projects and may receive other non-monetary benefits such as mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to Visa’s technologies and resources. The program is designed to foster innovation in the payments industry and help startups grow and scale their businesses.