The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and MoneyGram, the payment solution company, have partnered with Techstars. The partners will cooperate to create a support program for developers around the world working on “technological innovation”.
Specifically, the partners will focus on people trying to improve digital payments and blockchain technology. The objective is “streamline cross-border payments and support financial inclusion”, per a .
Techstars is a company that, according to its , provides access to capital, customers, talent, infrastructure, and mentorship. The company calls itself an “operational investor” created to support people on their entrepreneurial aspirations.
Techstars has worked with ClassPass, DataRobot, DigitalOcean, and crypto-based companies, such as Chainalysis. Their partnership with Stellar and MoneyGram will target ways to remove friction from the process of transferring money in the Latin American region. The SDF explained:
Each year for the next three years, the program will select a class of up to 12 fintech startups to participate in an immersive 13-week program where entrepreneurs will work with mentors from Techstars, the Stellar Development Foundation, and MoneyGram to solidify their value proposition and product-market-fit.
Once the cohorts finish their program, they will have the opportunity to present their progress in front of the fintech community, the released said. Potential participants will be able to start sending applications as early as July 25, 2022, until October 12, 2022.
Denelle Dixon, CEO at the SDF and its Executive Director, claimed blockchain technology has been contributing to improving the legacy payment infrastructure and providing people with better payment cross-border payment methods. Dixon added:
We believe that we can improve access to the financial system for all participants, and we’re proud to work with MoneyGram and Techstars to empower the next generation of innovators to build a more inclusive and accessible cross-border payments system that takes full advantage of 21st-century technology.
Details On The New Stellar Partnership
Per Techstar’s official website, the company also contributes with a monthly stipend for living expenses during their programs. In return, the beneficiaries provide them with a portion of their equity, in the form of fully diluted common stock.
This arrangement stands until the company “raises a priced equity financing of $250,000 or more”. For blockchain-based companies, Techstars claims as much as 6% of the token reserve, if the supported company conducts a “token event, ICO, etc”.
Beneficiaries can access an additional $100,000 in convertible notes. Maëlle Gavet, Techstarts CEO said the following on this new partnership:
At Techstars, we believe great ideas are everywhere, but access to opportunity is not, which is why our global-investment model is to reach founders anywhere and everywhere. As we look to reach founders in the Americas, this program will provide early-stage blockchain and digital asset innovators the advantages and resources they need to succeed in building an inclusive, accessible financial system, and deliver world-changing solutions.
A literature major, Reynaldo Márquez has been deeply immersed in the crypto industry since 2017. His journey began with translating articles for various crypto news outlets, a role he took on with zeal. In 2018, amidst a challenging market, he embraced his first writing assignment, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the nascent industry and the promise of change it bears for many people worldwide.
In March 2021, he joined the prestigious crypto news outlet NewsBTC and Bitcoinist, where he not only reported on the latest crypto news but also had the privilege of interviewing some of the industry's most influential figures. A year later, his dedication and hard work were recognized, and he was promoted to Managing Editor, a position he currently holds with pride.
He believes in honesty, good communication, hard work, and the power of cryptocurrency and its potential to transform people's lives, especially those alienated by the legacy financial system. Born in 1992 in Venezuela, Reynaldo is familiar with how governments and central banks can negatively affect people, their everyday lives, and their futures by creating inflation and erasing their hopes for a better future. Thus, like many Venezuelans, he embraced this new technology to help him and his family navigate difficult times.
In another life, Reynaldo would have pursued a career as an investigator, most likely tracking down the origins of the Cyberpunk movement with the publication of William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer.’ The intersection between fiction and reality, with the materialization of Bitcoin in 2009, would have allowed him to dive deep into the crypto sphere as something more than a financial phenomenon but also a cultural shift in society that was brewing since the XX century, and maybe even sooner, in the XIX century with the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience.’
But that’s for another life. In this one, Reynaldo has been trading to improve his trading skills. Since 2023, he has been trying to learn Python to create successful strategies and find ways to execute them. It is a difficult task, which continues to keep him busy today and will most likely continue to keep him busy in the near and long term.
In his free time, he enjoys lifting heavy objects, reading, watching movies, and listening to his favorite music. Some of his favorite authors are Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Mario Vargas Llosa, Reinaldo Arenas, Rafael Cadenas, and many others. Lately, he has been primarily interested in reading about dystopic societies, a topic that deeply resonates with the crypto industry.
Since 2023, he has lived in Spain with his wife. He loves the weather, the food, and the people and their culture. They both expect to travel much more within the country they now call home and beyond its border. He hopes to retire with his wife, maybe in a quiet place near a beach, but most likely in a city close to a library and a university with his kids and, hopefully, grandkids.
Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes
only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any
investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own
research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website
entirely at your own risk.
