Participants developed solutions focused on preventing fraud and financial scams in the age of artificial intelligence, encouraging investing habits, and promoting sustainable retirement savings.

From April 6 to May 11, students, young professionals, and innovation enthusiasts worked in teams on real financial industry challenges as part of a program organized by RTU Riga Business School and RTU Design Factory, collaborating with leading industry companies and mentors.

The challenges and problem statements were defined by financial and technology companies including VISA, TWINO, and INDEXO.

The winners:
TWINO challenge – RTU Riga Business School MERIT student team “InSpark” developed a gifting-based investment platform concept designed to help users gain their first positive investing experience by receiving investments as gifts.

INDEXO challenge – RTU Riga Business School student team “Fluxion” created a personalized retirement savings system that automatically adjusts investment amounts based on the user’s financial situation and integrates into banking mobile applications.

VISA challenge – SSE student team “SW1FT” developed a solution that uses behavioral analysis and machine learning to identify suspicious payments and reduce the risk of financial fraud even before a transaction is approved.

In total, 74 team applications were submitted for the competition, from which 30 teams with 86 participants were selected. Over the course of the month, the program featured five in-person sessions, four workshops, and hundreds of mentoring meetings involving more than 70 mentors.

Throughout the program, participants took part in workshops, mentoring sessions, and team activities, developing their ideas together with industry experts.

The finalist projects were evaluated by a jury consisting of TWINO CEO Nauris Bloks, IPAS Indexo Management Board Member Artūrs Roze, Visa Senior Client Relationship Manager Evita Kalmane-Pivkina, Fintech Latvia Association Head Tīna Lūse, and Outlast Foundation Finance and Administrative Director Laima Tropa. The teams’ solutions were evaluated based on impact, innovation, feasibility, business viability, as well as presentation and communication quality.

We are grateful to all the participants for their dedication and the industry representatives for their support and active involvement throughout the program.
Together, we are strengthening the next generation of innovators!