As you may know, Akoni was among only 20 startups selected for the fifth Accenture Fintech Innovation Lab London. It was a honour to be chosen out of more than 300 applicants from around the globe.

Tom Graham, programme director for the Lab, said: "The Fintech Innovation Lab London is helping startups forge ties to thrive at home and abroad...[and] offers lightbulb moments to banks with exciting innovations that can help make financial services work better."

The Lab was developed to help startups refine and test their proposition through a three-month accelerator and mentorship programme. This year, it was held in the Trampery Republic, an innovation facility at East India in London's Docklands.

Sigga Sigurdardottir, Head of Customer and Innovation at Santander, said: "It's positive to see London taking a leading role in shaping and defining the global fintech innovation agenda."

Akoni's time at the Lab has recently finished, and we're now back at our offices in Westminster.

It was a privilege to be part of the programme, and to experience the various benefits that will help Akoni, our customers, and our partners. For example, we were able to network with many fascinating people, including the Accenture team and other innovative startups.

Our team were invited to attend bank events, and had the chance to meet top execs and decision-makers from global financial services institutions including HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Citibank, Santander, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and more. Collaboration with banks is a key part of the Akoni offering, so these introductions are invaluable to our growth and the service we offer.

What's more, we had personal mentoring from experts within the fintech and banking sectors, which provided us with useful insights. We were also granted the chance to deliver follow-on presentations with Accenture and banks.

This all added up to provide Akoni with the acceleration we'd hoped for.

Felicia Meyerowitz Singh, CEO and co-founder of Akoni confirmed: "The Lab has accelerated our proposition and helped us refine our value to businesses and banks. We have made invaluable connections and gained amazing mentorship from the banks. Banks are now working with us, and we see this as an endorsement of our collaboration."

Find out more about the Lab

Akoni helps businesses make the most of their cash. Register for free at AkoniHub.com