Next Bank Bogotá, the independent, collaborative conference taking place in Bogotá on 4 & 5 September, brings together innovators from within and outside financial services institutions to explore the digital transformation of the industry. The theme is build and connect – building leadership, building innovation, building businesses and connecting the old and the new, the established and the emergent. Next Bank Bogotá is organized by finnovista, the collaborative tribe re-imagining the financial services industry

According to Andrés Fontao, Partner at finnovista, “We set the foundations at our first Next Bank event in Colombia last year and we are thrilled to be invited back to grow the fintech community and dive even further into the topics surfacing in Colombia such as deep innovation in financial services and bitcoin.”

Catalina Ortíz, General Manager of iNNpulsa Colombia, sponsor of the conference, explains “We’ve arrived at a transformative moment and there is a great opportunity for the different members of the nascent fintech ecosystem – the entrepreneurs, the investors, the innovators, the financial institutions – to play their part in reacting to the changing landscape and leveraging the opportunities that come out of it.”

Industry players such as Accenture, Visa and BBVA will explore the ways in which technology is changing the use of and access to finance and whether the industry truly lends itself to deep innovation. Organisations including 500Startups and Wayra will examine the fintech startup ecosystem in Latin America. Experts from Ripple Labs, Omidyar Network, Afluenta and Lenddo will dive into the disruptive shifts being brought about by new technologies like cryptocurrencies and crowlending.

The final for Central and South America of the BBVA Open Talent startup competition will be held at the conference and the 20 finalists from the categories New Banking and Digital Life will present their projects to theaudience and a panel of judges. The two winners will receive €30k to develop their project and a trip to New York to take part in NYC Crash Acceleration along with two runners up.

Next Bank Bogota is proudly associated with Innotribe/SWIFT, Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá, the Asociación de Emprendedores de Colombia and Nazca Ventures, among others.