Investment bank Nomura sets up $92mn fund for fintech startups

Investment bank Nomura has decided to set up a $92 million fund to assist start-ups, a senior official said.In a statement issued here on Wednesday the firm also said that it has commenced the 'Voyager - Nomura FinTech Partnership' in India aimed at harnessing emerging technologies to help transform its businesses and services."We also plan to create a new 10 billion yen ($92 million/Rs 6 billion) fund to provide financial support to start-ups. The Voyager initiative in India is a further sign of our commitment to engage with start-ups and encourage financial innovation," Yo Akatsuka, Senior Managing Director, Innovations, Nomura Holdings, Inc was quoted as saying in the statement.Nomura is inviting entrepreneurs to participate in the programme to build innovative solutions for capital markets and investment banking that can be deployed across the firm and financial industry, the statement said.A Nomura Innovation Centre (NICe) has been set up at Powai here to provide a platform to start-ups that will be selected for the Voyager programme, the statement said."New technology, supported by an innovation-driven ecosystem, has resulted in an environment of increasing collaboration between new and traditional market players," RK Rangan, President & CEO, Nomura Services India was quoted as saying in the statement."Building on this momentum, Voyager is a programme for start-ups to engage with Nomura to drive innovation through its global network."According to Nomura, entrepreneurs working at NICe will get access to the company's resources and test their concepts and solutions, leveraging the firm's people, process and technology.The partnership could lead to start-ups potentially gaining Nomura as a client and/or an investor, the statement said.