Independent Banker - April 2019 - 20

PORTFOLIO
Visit icba.org/
thinktech to
learn more
about the
Accelerator
program and
other ICBA
ThinkTECH
initiatives.
Innovation Station
By Kevin Tweddle, ICBA
Creating the
next generation
of fintech
t was a busy start to the year on the ICBA innovation
front. We wrapped our ThinkTECH Accelerator 12-week
mentorship program and held two demo days for the eight
fi nalist companies that completed our accelerator program.
We introduced these companies and demonstrated their
solutions at ICBA LIVE's ThinkTECH showcase last month
in Nashville, Tenn., and again the following week for the
local community in Little Rock, Ark.
I
Kevin Tweddle
There are two important facets to the ThinkTECH program.
Certainly, the involvement of our community banks
in problem identifi cation, fi ntech selection and mentorship
is unique to ICBA's brand of accelerator. It ensures our
banks have an impact on our industry's future. In addition,
through our mentorship program, we have an opportunity
20 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q April 2019
(kevin.tweddle@
icba.org) is
chief operating
off icer of the
ICBA Services
Network
to " teach " early-stage companies about
community banking. This includes
how to design solutions, guidance on
integration needs, pricing, and the
sales and delivery process. The intention
is to remove risk from the buying
process for community banks, accelerate
the companies' ability to deliver
more relevant solutions at a faster
pace and provide better outcomes.
I get the question " Why Little Rock? "
frequently. The reason for that is
because it involves the collaboration of
our program partner, The Venture Center,
which is located in Little Rock, as
well as the support of the City of Little
Rock and the State of Arkansas. The
Venture Center has signifi cant experience
in running accelerator programs
and has a strong understanding of
community banking. The city and state
have provided support for the program
and have built a strong tech community.
Several of the companies in the
program will relocate to Little Rock and
build their companies, create jobs in
the community and diversify their local
economy. Indirectly, ICBA is involved
in building communities and businesses
that create a better local banking
environment. We feel this program sets
the example for the rest of the country
on how to build better communities.
The 12-week mentorship program
also allowed ICBA to take advantage
of our unique resources to provide the
best program possible. We hosted 41
community bank executives, 12 regulators,
12 core processing executives and
53 subject matter experts, as well as 37
of our own employee experts. It took an
army to get this done, and we certainly
had tremendous contributions from
our ICBA community to help make this
program successful.
We enjoyed introducing our ThinkTECH
Accelerator fi nalists at ICBA
LIVE 2019, and look foward to including
them in our corporate membership
program to better serve your needs.
http://www.icba.org/
Independent Banker - April 2019

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