Barclays has today opened the Barclays Kenya Product Lab in Nairobi, a product development program that will help local developers to come up with solutions that could potentially change the future of the financial industry.
The product lab is a partnership between Barclays Kenya, Moringa School and global start-up investment firm, NEST. Moringa School will offer training on design thinking and user research while NEST will manage the program and provide mentorship.
During the 10-week comprehensive training program, local developers will have access to resources available in Barclays’ Global Rise Innovation Hubs across the world as well mentorship from the Barclays global open innovation teams in London, Manchester, New York and other planned locations in the Middle East, Africa and India.
Each developer will conduct market research, user research, building product prototypes and pitch their solutions in front of Barclay’s senior executives and program partners. The developer with the best solution will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and a chance to continue working with Barclays on the innovation.
“Our innovation initiatives in Africa are a hugely important part of our aim to create a network of strong innovators across the globe – connecting and co-creating together to create the future of financial services,” says Lubaina Manji, Director of Barclays Open Innovation Programme.
To join the program, apply here. Application closes October 2nd.
