Update from the Phoenix Innovation Forum
Article written by James Carroll, Digital Sustainability Manager for Phoenix Group
Last month, we announced the kick off of Phoenix Group’s first ever Innovation Forum was launched– created to deliver innovative solutions for the challenges 
faced by our customers, business and industry. This Forum is focusing on exploring solutions to two key pillars of our Customer Sustainability programme – digital literacy and financial inclusion.
Since kick-off, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from across Phoenix Group have reviewed some fantastic submissions from FinTech innovators around the world. From a diverse range of solutions, the team narrowed the applications down to seven FinTechs who were invited to pitch their ideas.
Shortlist and pitch Session
On Wednesday 27 July, we welcomed the seven shortlisted innovators to pitch their ideas in the Innovation Lab at Standard Life House. The pitches gave a deeper insight into how these solutions could help our customers to secure a life of possibilities. Our SMEs scored each application against five key areas: target audience, the concept and our ambitions, timeline, resource need and scalability. They left the session with a real buzz after hearing how these solutions can benefit our customers and wider society - and with the difficult task of putting only three forward to the final.
Announcing the three finalists
We are delighted to announce that the finalists going forward to the last round of the inaugural Phoenix Group Innovation Forum are:
The solutions put forward by these finalists clearly align to the challenges we set with the teams providing a proof of concept that our panel of SMEs from across Phoenix Group believe have the potential to deliver the best outcomes for our customers.
The finalists have now been matched with two mentors from Leadership Teams within Phoenix whose role over the next five weeks is to support them in refining their concepts. The mentors will do a deep dive to establish the validity of the solution, which includes completing an assumption plotting exercise and evaluating the solutions scalability within the life stages of our customers. Mentors will also analyse feedback from the initial pitches and assess the commercial viability of the solutions.
We can’t wait for AirFunders, Behavioural Finance and Moroku to join us in the Innovation Lab again on the 22nd of September for the final pitches. We’ll also be joined by a panel of senior Phoenix leaders who will be considering which is the best fit to build a formal partnership with Phoenix Group. The winner will be announced on Thursday 29 September and we’ll work with the winning team to bring their exciting concept to life.
Photo by RODNAE Productions: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-black-blazer-standing-beside-white-board-7414008/
