Nuggets’ self-sovereign digital ID chosen for Accenture fintech accelerator

Jan 18, 2021 | Ayang Macdonald

Nuggets’ self-sovereign digital ID chosen for Accenture fintech accelerator

Self-sovereign digital ID and payments platform Nuggets is among 20 fintech startups selected for the 2021 cohort accelerator program of Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab London, with the goal being to help them fine-tune and develop their technologies and business models.

According to an announcement from Accenture, Nuggets and the 20 others were selected from a list of 450 applicants whose works include efforts to proffer solutions to some community problems in various domains such as climate risk analytics, security, green finance, debt-management platforms, data risk, using AI to remove bias, and sustainable investing, among others.

During the cohort program, which is already underway and is expected to run till March 31 2021, the startups will benefit from the expertise of executives of about 40 UK companies, among them some major companies with a vested interest in effective digital ID, including NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC, and JP Morgan, the announcement mentioned.

The inclusion of Nuggets to the cohort program, Accenture noted, depicts the importance of self-sovereign digital ID technology especially in a context marked by a spike in customer data privacy concerns and the falling security standards and fraud threats linked to digital payments. The move will also help Nuggets establish useful contacts and connections with some decision-makers who matter so as to enhance the visibility of their technology.

Nugget’s inclusion, as per the statement, thus underlines the belief that self-sovereign digital identity technology is an inventive solution that can be employed to check some of the societal, financial and sustainability problems in the course of the year.

Seema Khinda Johnson, co-founder and COO of Nuggets, and recognized senior female leader in fintech, said Nuggets inclusion in the cohort is a great opportunity to make the most of.

“This comes at a great time for Nuggets as we start to scale the business. Being accepted into the programme is a tremendous opportunity that will enable us to showcase our technology to every bank and financial institution who are all looking for a fast, safe path to innovation, especially when it comes to privacy,” she stated, adding that they are excited to work with Accenture “…to help banks and financial institutions explore the benefits of SSID whilst maximising data privacy and security for business and consumers.”

Graham Cressey, FinTech Innovation Lab program director, Accenture UK, spoke of the importance of the cohort: “If there’s anything we’ve learnt from such a challenging time, it’s that there’s never been a greater need for purposeful organisations to make a difference at speed. With a customer-first outlook and innovative capabilities, fintechs may hold the key to quickly helping society on its road to recovery, making them valuable partners in the industry,” he said.