OREANDA-NEWS. The ING Innovation Studio has completed its second acceleration cycle. Three internal teams and three startups have graduated from the program, creating fintech solutions. The selection of new startups to join the program starts 18 April.

The class of March 2016, with Brunon Barkiewitz (ING Chief Innovation Officer, second from left) and Lodewijk Bonebakker (Head of ING Customer Experience Center, with baseball bat).

The class of March 2016, with Brunon Barkiewitz (ING Chief Innovation Officer, second from left) and Lodewijk Bonebakker (Head of ING Customer Experience Center, with baseball bat).

The external startups who worked on their ideas at the Studio were Moneytis, CheckMetrics and whydonate.

“What I really liked about the six months we spent in the Studio is the way we learned to work,” said Niels Corver, one of the founders of Whydonate, an online platform that connects charities with donors. “You learn to work lean: do experiments, make mistakes fast and learn fast. That way, you don’t run out of money quickly.”

In their six month journey, all teams have validated their value propositions, target groups, channels and launched minimal viable products. They worked according to a structured program where they applied PACE, ING’s methodology for innovation, which combines elements of Lean Startup, design thinking and Agile. Two of the three startups have been able to start a pilot with ING, the internal teams are in the process of finding homes for implementation.

On April 18, another world wide campaign will kick off, selecting new startups that will join the program in September this year.