Standard Life has launched its second Innovation Forum.
This year, fintech firms will be challenged to pitch and develop solutions to help pension customers engage more fully with their investments - and in particular environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
The winner will then partner with Standard Life to roll out its concept to a pool of more than three million of the group's customers.
The initiative involves a five-way collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services' innovation ecosystem, FinTech Scotland, Women In Banking & Finance and Scottish Financial Enterprise and builds on the success of last year’s forum, which was won by Edinburgh-based Behavioural Finance.
Behavioural Finance uses psychometric testing to enable users to see how their personality will affect their relationship with money. Standard Life plans to introduce the wealth personality test they developed to a number of its customers, with the aim of rolling it out more widely later this year.
This year, the forum will follow a similar process, giving FinTechs the opportunity to design and present innovative solutions to senior leaders across Standard Life and the wider Phoenix Group.
Each shortlisted participant will work closely with a Standard Life ‘mentor’ to further refine their proposition before a winner is eventually selected for a long-term partnership.
Standard Life’s managing director for pensions and savings Colin Williams said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Standard Life to connect with creative thinkers to enhance our proposition development and better support customers to engage with their investments and understand the impact they have on the world.
“This is key to our group’s wider social purpose and sustainability strategy and follows the transition of £15bn of workplace assets to our new sustainable default fund.“
FinTech Scotland chief executive Nicola Anderson said: “The first iteration of their Innovation Forum in 2022 was a real success and we’re very excited to see Standard Life’s plans for integrating the technology from Behavioural Finance into customers’ journeys.
“This year, they’ve set themselves an even bigger challenge as they're looking to bring more innovation to ESG investing.
“Customer outcomes are directly linked to environmental and social issues, and vice versa - bringing this relationship to life is vital as we move towards a net zero future.“
Separately, CodeClan has experienced increasing demand from young people in underrepresented groups for its 2023 Youth Academy, and plans to take 40 people aged between 16 and 21 into its free summer courses in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Chief executive Loral Quinn said: “Sponsoring a student through CodeClan Youth Academy is a perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs, or businesses, to ‘pay it forward’ and help these young people towards a career in tech.
“The Youth Academy is free for all students with sponsored places, we’ve got 40 individuals on the waitlist, and we would find places for many more if we could secure more sponsorship.”
The cost for sponsoring a student through the Youth Academy in July is £3,000 and it is also possible for organisations and individuals to cover the £10,000 per student costs for the 16-week professional software developer and 14-week professional sata analysis programmes, while smaller contributions starting at £1,000 can also be made.
Quinn added: “Across Glasgow and Edinburgh, there is a high percentage of secondary schools in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation zones, and we really want to change the trajectory of young people by giving them an opportunity to transform their lives through jobs in tech.”
Scotland's chief entrepreneur Mark Logan commented: “CodeClan’s youth academy model is an outstanding initiative that creates genuinely life-changing opportunities for young people while simultaneously expanding the talent pool for Scotland’s tech companies.
“With scale participation from individuals and businesses across Scotland, the scheme could be transformational in both economic and societal terms - there’s no better way for the tech community to contribute to Scotland’s future.”
CodeClan has placed more than 2,000 students with over 300 organisations, including hiring partners like Skyscanner, FanDuel, Baillie Gifford, DC Thomson, BlackRock, Tesco Bank and Sainsbury’s Bank.
The Youth Academy is linked to its Emerging Talent Fund, which was launched earlier this year in response to a shortage of women, LGBTQ and people from underrepresented ethnic groups in tech.
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