For FinTechs who are seeking to accelerate with hands-on support from the Cedar-IBSi ecosystem

About Moonshot Accelerator

A 12-week intense FinTech accelerator program to launch your product(s) and get funding ready.

This program by Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab (CIFL) will support a cohort of 6 to 8 startups at the idea, pre-seed, and seed stages.

Moonshot delivers unparalleled access to 60+ years of advisory expertise and global research insights in financial services. We aim to empower FinTechs, coupling strategic insights with funding support for your journey to success.

Who is it for?

Idea stage startups developing/ validating an MVP

Startups founded in or after 2019

Startups headquartered in India

BankTech focused startups

BankTech Focus Areas

Why should you join?

01

Funding

Cedar Capital will offer early-stage funding during or after demo day to graduating startups that meet KPI goals and milestones defined at the start of the program.

02

Support

Hands-on support to build your FinTech with access to subject matter experts and in-house mentorship from Cedar-IBSi.

03

Network

Access to Cedar-IBSi’s network of 800+ global banks and financial institutions as your potential partners.

04

Knowledge

Leverage Cedar-IBSi’s 60+ years of consulting insights from the BankTech and FinTech industry.

05

Access

Access 10,000+ pages of proprietary IBSi research, including FinTech player profiles, use-case repositories, market reports, annual rankings, and leaderboards.

06

Strategy

Sessions with industry leaders for devising product, go-to-market, branding, and customer strategy.

07

Resources

$21,000 worth of total technology credits available for your startup.

Program Timeline

Program Structure

The 12-week program is divided into three phases. In-person sessions will be conducted twice in each phase, with weekly check-ins throughout the acceleration journey.

Knowledge Forge

Weeks 1 and 2
  • Onboarding & Expectation Setting
  • Goal & KPI Setting
Weeks 3 and 4
  • Business Fundamentals & Strategy

Innovation Sprint

Weeks 5 and 6
  • Leadership, legal, and team building
  • Cedar-IBSi's Bankers' Network
Weeks 7 and 8
  • Technology & Scale-up
  • Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers Network

Take-off

Weeks 9, 10 and 11
  • Fundraising Fundamentals
Week 12
  • Goal & KPI Evaluation
Weekly check-ins with the Program Management Team
Track weekly progress and identify potential roadblocks
Need-based interaction with Mentors, user-feedbacks, and customer introductions

Program Structure

The 12-week program is divided into three phases. In-person sessions will be conducted twice in each phase, with weekly check-ins throughout the acceleration journey.

Knowledge Forge

Weeks 1 and 2
  • Onboarding & Expectation Setting
  • Goal & KPI Setting
Weeks 3 and 4
  • Business Fundamentals & Strategy

Innovation Sprint

Weeks 5 and 6
  • Leadership, legal, and team building
  • Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers’ Network
Weeks 7 and 8
  • Technology & Scale-up
  • Cedar-IBSi’s Bankers Network

Take-off

Weeks 9, 10 and 11
  • Fundraising Fundamentals
Week 12
  • Goal & KPI Evaluation

Weekly check-ins with the Program Management Team

Track weekly progress and identify potential roadblocks

Need-based interaction with Mentors, user-feedbacks, and customer introductions

FinTech Lab Team

Angleen Malik
Lab Director
Sumit Gilitwala
Associate – Investments and FinTech Lab
Niomi Parikh
Research Consultant
Karan Sippy
Karan Sippy
Analyst

Investments Team

Sahil Anand
Founder & Managing Partner
Subit Saurav
Associate Partner, Investments
Sunny Desa
Director – Investor Relations
Pallavi Bhatia
Associate, Investments
Alan Nigrel
Associate, Investments

In-house FinTech Experts & Scouts (+50 more)

Chetan Parekh
Managing Partner and Head, Cedar FinTech practice
V. Ramkumar
Senior Partner and Head, Cedar Financial Services practice
Ramakrishnan Viswanathan
Senior Partner, Cedar FinTech Practice
Amit Jain
Partner and Co-Head, IBS Intelligence
Robin Amlot
Managing Editor, IBSi FinTech Journal
Jared Zerman
Senior Director, US markets
Nikhil Gokhale
Director - Research and Digital properties
Pankul Verma
Director, FS & FT practice
Aditya Agarwal
Principal
Nitin Kanaujiya
Engagement Manager
Tarishi Kumari
Engagement Manager
Abhishek Ojha
Engagement Manager
Soham Dutta
Engagement Manager

For FinTechs seeking to accelerate with hands-on support from the Cedar-IBSi ecosystem

Testimonials

Frequently Asked Questions

It will be a hybrid program with in-person physical sessions at regular intervals, usually bi-weekly. It is mandatory to attend these sessions in person in Mumbai.

Yes, working full-time on the startup is a mandatory criterion for the program.

There is an opportunity to raise non-committed equity funding for selected startups from Cedar Capital during the program or post-demo day conditioned on mandatory KPI completions / achievements defined at the start of the program.

Yes, a pitch deck/business plan is mandatory to apply for the program.

  • 6-8 shortlisted companies will be given access to Cedar-IBSi’s internal partner network consisting of subject matter experts in Banking, BankTech, and FinTech.
  • CIFL will also invite an external panel of mentors/advisors comprising bankers, BFSI subject matter experts, FinTech BankTech founders, and many more.
  • You can start by filling out the application form, which consists of basic questions about the founders and company.
  • The CIFL team will review the applications and select the top 20 companies based on the yes/no questions in the application form.
  • Selected 20 companies will be invited to Mumbai for the pitch day, where the founders will pitch their startup to a jury panel of 12-13 panelists. The startups will be further evaluated on key criteria, including founder and team experience and diversity, traction, product USP, market opportunity, business model, and target market opportunities.
  • At the end of pitch day, 6-8 companies will be selected to attend the program.

No, CIFL will not charge any fees from the shortlisted companies.

No, only the founding team will be allowed to attend the program.

Yes, even if there is no funding requirement, the panel sessions would be beneficial for founders to build their company and product.

Send us an email at: info@cedaribsifintechlab.com

Copyright: © 2024 Cedar-IBSi FinTech Lab. All Rights Reserved.

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