Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab expands horizons: Unveils expansion plans and diverse program offerings

By Puja Sharma

• A 12-week accelerator program for young FinTechs
• Geographic Expansion 
• To enhance program offerings 

Mumbai, December 4th, 2023: Founded in 2018, Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab has since become a home to global technology companies that need “soft-landing” opportunities in MENA and India. The Lab aims to help Indian FinTechs expand into the Middle East and other Gulf countries.

Robin Amlot, Managing Editor at IBS Intelligence, spoke with Founder and Managing Partner of Cedar Capital, Sahil Anand, on how the Lab perceives Indian FinTechs and how it would help them pre-qualify for banks through promotion.

“After extensive research for 6-7 months on labs around the world, we identified 30-40 tech accelerators. We recognized that these accelerators lacked knowledge and ended up in the middle without foundation, and that’s what we have been doing in the last 6 years: providing the knowledge, access, and the accelerator,” Sahil said.

What’s next for the Lab

There have been some companies that have graduated from our Lab and become tremendous success stories in the FinTech realm. Sahil noted, “We have prominent players, including Infosys and Hexaware, to very young players, and it is a business model with a membership fee— similar to a marketplace model.”

Sahil revealed that the Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab will kick off a new batch in February, with young FinTechs joining up. “We will train these FinTechs for 12 weeks, and it is a valid accelerator program where they will graduate and be reborn in our Lab. This programme adds another layer to the model that is more than just knowledge and will help FinTechs build again.”

Talking about the next big step for the Lab, Sahil said, “The second big thing is that we have planned a geographic expansion. Currently, we have labs in Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, and London, and we aspire to establish a presence in Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. We are also in talks to set up a pop-up lab in Bahrain within an already established ecosystem. We look forward to expanding geographically, along with the program we can offer, in the following year.”