Barclays bank’s Kenya lab targets financial solution developers

Nairobi, Kenya:  Barclays has opened the Barclays Kenya Product Lab in Nairobi, an agile product development program that will give local developers access to a pool of resources to come up with solutions that could potentially change the future of the financial industry.

The lab is the first of several initiatives that Barclays will be rolling out in Kenya as part of its global innovation drive focused on accelerating the development and adoption of new technologies in the financial industry. Through its global innovation drive launched in July, dubbed rise, Barclays is keen on investing in strategic partnerships with renowned technology leaders to develop disruptive fintech solutions that could revolutionise its interaction with customers.  

“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. 

The product lab is a partnership between Barclays Kenya, Moringa School, East Africa’s top coding 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.  

“The launch of this program attests to our commitment as a company to invest in youth-focused initiatives that accelerate access to new innovations in the industry,” Barclays Kenya Marketing and Corporate Relations Director Caroline Ndung’u said. 

In the initial phase, which kicks off on October 19th, the Barclays Kenya Product Lab will work with local developers, who will be taken through a 10-week comprehensive training program and tasked to come up with superior innovative solutions.  

Through the program, Barclays will give the local developers’ access to resources available in its 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. 

“Throughout the entire program, each developer will be tasked to conduct market research, user research, building product prototypes and pitch their solutions in front of Barclay’s senior executives and program partners,” Ms Ndung’u added. 

To join the program, developers are invited to file their applications online through https://thinkrise.typeform.com/to/KAuEhd between today and October 6th. Applicants will be selected based on their technical capability and business skills. 

“We're very excited about the Barclays Product Lab as it gives developers unbridled access to executives, developers and resources in one of the leading banks in the world. It's a great environment for developers to grow their skills among other talented peers and gain the experience and network to succeed.” CEO and Co-founder of Moringa School Audrey Cheng said.  

The developers will be based in Barclays Kenya innovation space within the bank’s headquarters. Besides the in-depth training and mentorship, the best solution to come out of the program will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and the developer will get a chance to continue working with Barclays on the innovation.