Business Review #CoLab inspires winning ideas
Capitalising on the digital passion and collaboration from colleagues across the Bank, GBS partnered with US tech company Plug and Play to host the first #CoLab hackathon in July 2019. The event took place at the Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy.
Modelled on the start-up hackathon concept where teams work together on timed sprints to create new products and services, employees from across ADCB competed to win a one-week immersive trip to Silicon Valley.
The objective was to develop innovative products using API technology. Colleagues from Consumer Banking Group and Wholesale Banking Group worked together in two squads of four members each.
The teams came up with more than 20 innovative ideas in just three weeks. Each squad picked one idea and then fully explored the market opportunity, the feasibility, the commercial viability, before pitching their products to a panel of judges, including Patrick Poulin, CEO of API Fortress, based in New York.
During the visit to Silicon Valley, the team visited a range of companies and shared entrepreneurship classes with start-ups from across the globe. They met some of the fast-growing fintechs which are changing the way banks engage with their customers.
