Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work: Web Summit 2017

Billed as “the largest tech conference in the world”, BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking was a proud platinum sponsor of Web Summit 2017 in Lisbon, which brought together the great and the good from the world of technology over three days in November.

An opportunity to demonstrate our digital know-how, our collaborative efforts with startups and our strong local presence in Lisbon – including our #talentmeetstalent initiative (see below) – the event attracted almost 60,000 people from 170 countries, more than 2,100 startups from around the world and 1,400 of the world’s most influential tech investors.

Participants at Web Summit included public figures such as Al Gore, leading thinkers such as MIT scholar Max Tegmark, and senior figures from the startup world, from Silicon Valley, from banking and finance, and beyond. 

At the event, CIB’s activities included:

• #talentmeetstalent, a new innovation initiative that seeks to connect education, technology and diversity to improve the flow of ideas, and pool all our skills and expertise for mutual growth and development
  
• Why collaborating with fintech will help with the transformation of banking, a talk by Matthieu Garnier, Head of Fintech and Research. 
  
• The promise of blockchain, but also the regulatory challenges to overcome in order for it to achieve its potential, a talk by Philippe Denis, Chief Digital Officer of Securities Services
  
• A talk about innovation as a journey, the importance of accepting failure, and why “Innovation has to be a given if we are to harness the power of digitalisation”: Solveig Bachellery, Head of Innovation
  
• Open innovation: “Innovation doesn’t start with ideas; it starts with questions that help us capture previously unknown users’ needs and insights”: Gillian Vernon, Head of Marketing, Digital Solutions
  
• How to cut a 3-minute memorable pitch for VCs, by Dean Demellweek, Digital Transformation Manager
  
• Startup pitching competitions, comprising Pitchonary for early-stage startups, won by Silver In Touch, which aims to give the elderly secure access to more affordable services offered by the young; and Portugal Fintech, won by LOQR, an advanced client recognition and access management system. Both Silver In Touch and LOQR will now attend TechCrunch’s Disrupt Berlin event in December. Ana Lehmann, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Industry, was part of the judging panel.