2017: Year in Review - Bitly

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Timeline

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Get all the details about what the B-Hive community accomplished in 2017

Hub Roadshow 2018

An inside look at B-Hive’s Hub Roadshow and the locations we will visit

2017: Year in Review

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The Newsletter, June 2018

A Word from Our CEO Dear Partners and Members, What a ride it has been! It is hard to imagine that it actually has been less than a year since we launched B-Hive and started building the team and the network. The most rewarding part of the past twelve months has been the enthusiasm among many of our partners and members for our concept of collaborative innovation and joint promotion of our ecosystem. And rightly so. Talent and entrepreneurial drive is abundant in our part of the world and it is about time we start being proud of that and become aware of the potential of our ecosystem. It took us a couple of months to assemble the team and define our priorities with our partners and members but after the summer, we truly got going and a lot has already been accomplished by our team and by the entire network. This report provides ample evidence of both the community and the communication activities, and is a testament to our focus on content as the driving force of the ecosystem. We want to be more than a networking platform that measures ourselves by the number of business connections and offerings our partners and members create together. In areas such as blockchain, cybersecurity and talent management, we are seeing the first tangible results and I am convinced many others will follow not only in these areas, but also in others such as in artificial intelligence and in data science. Our dual goal of strengthening the financial services sector while at the same time helping our technology companies scale and become worldwide leaders is the common theme in all our activities. I would like to invite you to review this report and to enter into a dialogue with us and all of our network to help us achieve these goals. Many thanks for the support in the past year. We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration. Wim De Waele, CEO of B-Hive

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B-Hive Timeline Eggsplore becomes B-Hive January 2017 We started the year strong with the official launch of B-Hive as a European collaboration platform for financial services. Apart from being a founding member of the GFHF, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Innovate Finance and Holland Fintech as one of the first steps in deepening our international ties.

Formation of CyberHive Working Group March 2017

Fintech Safary in Berlin March 2017 Committed to supporting the internationalization of our startups and scale-ups, companies from our network joined us all the way to Berlin to discover the city’s promising opportunities in fintech.

Six partners form working group to launch blockchain-powered identity and KYC platform April 2017

The CyberHive Working Group was established to build and operate a unified platform for the financial services sector, providing access to research, best practices and innovation for our corporate partners, and a unique dissemination engine and marketplace for cybersecurity startups with distinctive and applicable solutions.

KBC, Euroclear, SWIFT, AG Insurance, BNP Paribas Fortis and Degroof Petercam joined the initiative to form a working group for the launch of a blockchain-powered identity and KYC platform. The first objective is to deliver an enhanced proof of concept with TheLedger (part of Cronos Group) as the selected blockchain developer.

B-Hive launches London office and joins the Innovate Finance Global Summit

DigiHive Kicks Off with MarTech Experience Workshop

April 2017 To promote Belgium and its digital finance community, we made our way to the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London. We also launched our first international hub.

Kickoff of Market Infrastructure Working Group May 2017 A first meeting of the Market Infrastructure Working Group is held at the premises of BNY Mellon, joined by Euroclear, MasterCard, Isabel and SWIFT.

Fabian Vandenreydt joins B-Hive June 2017 Former Head of Innotribe at SWIFT, Fabian moves into his role as Executive Chairman of B-Hive. He is responsible for driving the strategic vision and help to grow its membership, stakeholder relationships and its reputation.

May 2017 We organized our first MarTech workshop at the Microsoft Innovation Center in Brussels around digital customer experience within financial services, bringing together 70+ attendees and eight pitching startups.

B-Hive Launch in Tel Aviv June 2017 Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt introduces B-Hive Tel Aviv at Fintech Junction.

Project Omega Kicks Off June 2017 KBC, Belfius Insurance and AG Insurance start the Project Omega initiative to explore how blockchain technology can enhance and accelerate the current payout processing of life insurance policies.

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B-Hive Timeline Proximity Shopping & Payment Experience Day June 2017 Aimed at discovering faster and smarter models to build the future of shopping and payments, we invited eight startups and scale-ups in our office for a pitching session with established financial players and consulting companies in our network.

Launch of TalentHive September 2017 We officially launched our TalentHive program focused on mapping and strengthening the talent pool in the financial sector in Europe.

Brussels as a Financial Center September 2017 With B-Hive in the driver’s seat, this high-level expert group delivered its first report with recommendations for the Minister of Finance. It delivers a solid foundation for future activities, as well as strengthens the position of Brussels through B-Hive activities.

Launch of Unlisted Shares Project October 2017 KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius and Euroclear launch a working group to explore the potential of blockchain technology to improve post-trade processing of unlisted securities, taking the scope of Euronext Expert Market as its first focus area, with a proof of concept targeted for 2018.

Insurance in the Spotlight November 2017 B-Hive makes significant progress on three insurtech projects – eRegistered Mail, Digital Green Card and Project Omega – focused on digital transformation in the sector. Leveraging this momentum, B-Hive also made its way to two insurance conferences: DIA in Munich and the Belgian Insurance Conference.

Launch of TrustHive June 2017 At the Money 20/20 Europe conference in Copenhagen, we announced the launch of a joint initiative earlier this year by our partners – AG Insurance, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, Degroof Petercam, Euroclear, KBC and SWIFT – for the creation of a blockchain-powered platform to simplify customer on-boarding for individuals and legal entities.

Completion of Research on Deception Technology September 2017 We conducted and shared research on deception technology, covering: the motivation for using deception technology as a part of a security strategy; the key elements of a deception solutions; a perspective on the maturity and effectiveness of these solutions, and implications for organizations considering deploying them; and shortlist of key vendors in the space.

B-Hive Builds Bridges to the Americas October 2017 Following our launches in London and Tel Aviv, we officially launched our New York office on October 12 in the offices of our partner, BNY Mellon. On top of a well-attended launch, we also hosted our first Matchmaking Morning in the US, inviting members and partners from our community. We also attended Sibos 2017 Toronto – with a booth right next to the Innotribe stage and four speaking slots.

Delivery of Enhanced POC of TrustHive KYC October 2017 The enhanced POC of the TrustHive KYC platform is delivered and is well-received by project participants and the B-Hive Board in general. It triggers additional interest from other partners to join the continuation of the initiative.

Regtech Kicks off at B-Hive November 2017 We kicked off our regtech program with an introductory workshop bringing together our partners and members. The two-hour interactive session tackled the key regulatory challenges of traditional financial institutions and inspired an open discussion on how new technologies such as AI and big data could be used to drive more efficient regulatory compliance in their organizations.

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B-Hive Timeline Launch of CyberFinder December 2017

Three of our partners joined forces to launch and fund CyberFinder, with a mission to create a cost-effective, shared platform for identifying, evaluating and deploying cyber solutions for critical use cases in an accelerated way.

Isabel takes on project ownership of the TrustHive KYC platform December 2017 Four Belgian banks (KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius and ING) agreed for Isabel to take on the project ownership and governance of the TrustHive KYC platform, as we proceed from POC to pilot phase in 2018. B-Hive will continue to support the initiative and act as a liaison to interested project partners in the future.

B-Hive at Fintech Belgium Summit December 2017 We are proud of three of our members – Elimity, Qover and Accountable – for winning the Pitch Battle! We were also part of several interesting sessions throughout the full-day event, including a panel on regulation, a session on scaling and a workshop on internationalization.

eRegistered Mailing Pitching Sessions December 2017

Focused on accelerating the emergence of an effective eRegistered mail solution, we invited four companies – Acto, TBC, Ipex, Unified Post and Shoot&Prove – for pitching sessions with our insurance partners.

Delivery of McKinsey Study & Trendwolves Report on HR in the Belgian Financial Sector December 2017 As a starting point for TalentHive, we worked closely with McKinsey and our partners to deliver a study focused on the human capital challenges and opportunities in the Belgium financial sector. This study aims to inform the training and recruiting strategies of our partners, as well as the policy choices of our legislators. We also leveraged the expertise of Trendwolves in matching cultural youth trends with business challenges to create a framework for employer branding of the Belgian fintech sector.

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Leading Digital Transformation in the Financial Services Industry To deal with the impact of digital technology on the financial system, B-Hive aims to build a strong international ecosystem where knowledge, experience, innovations and technology can be shared. The focus of our activities rests on three pillars:

Community Building Through events and matchmaking sessions in Belgium and abroad, we create opportunities for tech-for-fin members and financial institutions in our network to boost their growth

Strategic Programs We bring our corporate partners - organized into three key industry groups – together to develop innovative technology solutions that are beneficial for the industry at large

Internationalization Apart from setting up local offices in key global financial centers, we believe in having presence in key finance events and connecting with fintech hubs all over the world


Building an Engaged Digital Finance Community Collaboration is at the heart of what we do in B-Hive. That’s why we believe in connecting the dots between all stakeholders in the European financial ecosystem – from traditional financial institutions and tech-for-fin companies to influential legislators and academic institutions.

We now have a total of 112 tech-for-fin member companies in the B-Hive network and it is growing by the day! Our members are active in these domains:

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Yet, as active engagement is key to foster true collaboration within the financial services industry, we organized a total of 28 events, matchmaking sessions and trainings in 2017 – with a total of 2,500 attendees. Our monthly Fin & Tonics provide our community with a platform to discuss relevant topics in the financial services industry – from gamification and financial inclusion to ICO and cybersecurity. We hosted a total of 12 Fin & Tonics in 2017 with 1,000+ attendees. We also introduced Open Office Hours in September to provide our tech-for-fin members with the opportunity to consult experts in specific domains such as legal, marketing and business development. These private consulting sessions have proved to be a huge success with a total of 25 sessions held since introducing the initiative.


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Driving Digital Transformation Through Strategic Programs We believe in the power of collaboration to address major challenges in the financial services industry and to fulfill the needs of our financial institution partners. Therefore, we oriented our activities toward five major programs this year, all aimed at tackling a specific challenge in the industry:

CyberHive

Key Challenge: Cybersecurity About the initiative: CyberHive is a unified platform for the financial services sector, providing access to research, best practices and innovation for our corporate partners, and a unique dissemination engine and marketplace for cybersecurity startups with distinctive and applicable solutions.

TrustHive

Key Challenge: Identity Management About the initiative: TrustHive is a multi-application platform based on distributed ledger technology that empowers private individuals and legal entities to manage their digital identity with financial services providers – such as banks and insurance companies – in a privacy-preserving manner. “Digitization and useful applications of blockchain technology are on top of our agenda. We are proud to launch this joint initiative in the Belgian market.” – Johan Thijs, chairman of Febelfin, the Belgian Financial Sector Federation, and CEO of KBC Group

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TalentHive

Key Challenge: Digital Skills Gap About the initiative: TalentHive puts a strong focus on strengthening the talent pool in Europe to ensure today’s talent and current workforce is equipped with the right skills and experience to fulfill their career ambitions and thrive in the digitization of the financial services industry. “One of the tangible areas in which we work is talent. With the TalentHive program, we focus on mapping and strengthening the talent pool in the financial sector in Europe. This exercise aims to ensure that today’s talent is equipped with the right skills and experience to address the digital challenges in this sector.” – Ellen Thijs, TalentHive Program Manager

OpenHive

Key Challenge: API Setup and Standardization About the initiative: OpenHive is a simulated financial sandbox designed to generate industry standards and APIs.

DigiHive

Key Challenge: Digitization About the initiative: DigiHive is a series of initiatives with financial services providers aimed at delivering extremely personalized experiences for their customers.

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Key Highlights CyberHive In March 2017, the CyberHive Working Group was established with the vision to build and operate a unified platform for the financial services sector, providing access to research, best practices and innovation for our corporate partners, and a unique dissemination engine and marketplace for cybersecurity startups with distinctive and applicable solutions.

Completion of research on deception technology We conducted and shared research on deception technology, covering: the motivation for using deception technology as a part of a security strategy; the key elements of a deception solutions; a perspective on the maturity and effectiveness of these solutions, and implications for organizations considering deploying them; and shortlist of key vendors in the space. This research has led to additional discussions with several of our partners on the specific applicability of deceptions in their own environment, and will likely lead to at least 1 POC in 2018. As next areas for cooperation and knowledge sharing, the following two areas have been raised as potential focus for group discussions and joined research: (1) approaches & methodologies for tracking gaps and progress of cybersecurity programs and (2) taxonomies for threat-centric cyber alerts and intelligence.

Confirmed launch of CyberFinder Three of our partners joined forces to launch and fund CyberFinder, with a mission to create a cost-effective, shared platform for identifying, evaluating and deploying cyber solutions for critical use cases in an accelerated way. CyberFinder will run 3 tracks covering (i) Individual, short-term priorities; (ii) Shared, medium-term priorities; and (iii) Shared research for longer-term needs. It has already created a database of over 150 early-stage cyber security solution providers as a basis for further work.

TrustHive At Money 20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, we announced the launch of a joint initiative by our partners – AG Insurance, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, Degroof Petercam, Euroclear, KBC and SWIFT – for the creation of a blockchain-powered platform to simplify customer on-boarding for individuals and legal entities.

Delivery of Enhanced POC A POC for onboarding private individuals and legal entities (based on Hyperledger 1.0) was delivered in October 2017 and well-received by project participants and the B-Hive Board in general. It triggers additional interest from other partners as well as from Belgian government institutions to join the continuation of the initiative, with the launch of a pilot with production data in 2018.

Isabel takes on project ownership of the TrustHive KYC platform The four Belgian banks (KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius and ING) agree for Isabel to take on the project ownership and governance of the TrustHive KYC platform, as we proceed from POC to pilot phase in 2018. B-Hive will continue to support the initiative and act as a liaison to interested project partners in the future.

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TalentHive We officially launched our TalentHive program focused on mapping and strengthening the talent pool in the financial sector in Europe.

Delivery of McKinsey Study on HR in the Belgian Financial Sector As a starting point for TalentHive, we worked closely with McKinsey and our partners to deliver a study focused on the human capital challenges and opportunities in the Belgium financial sector. Delivered in December 2017, this study aims to inform the training and recruiting strategies of our partners, as well as the policy choices of our legislators.

B-Hive & Trendwolves Report on Why Fintech Rocks We also leveraged the expertise of Trendwolves in matching cultural youth trends with business challenges to create a framework for employer branding of the Belgian fintech sector, also made available in December 2017.

Focus on Technologies of the Future We believe in the power of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to provide smart and efficient solutions for the financial services industry. Therefore, B-Hive is working to resolve our partners’ underlying challenges in our programs with the use of these new technologies, contributing to the further development of these technologies, and subsequently turning them into marketable solutions for the industry.

Blockchain “Our POC for the TrustHive KYC platform highlights the significant potential cost savings and even opportunities for new revenues that blockchain technology can bring to participating financial institutions when working together and with innovative startups. By recognizing and agreeing on a framework for non-technological challenges to implementation such as governance upfront, we take a major head start compared to similar initiatives elsewhere in effectively realizing the benefits.” – Dave Remue, Project Manager

Artificial Intelligence “AI is already here and it is here for all of us! Throughout the year – much thanks to our programs, matchmaking sessions and events – we’ve seen that AI is not just a futuristic technology. It already has the potential to yield great results in semi-automated environments. AI, more specifically Robotic Process Automation, can already optimize parts of tedious processes such as document interpretation, routing and customer intelligence. Everyone knows that they need to put AI as a headline in their strategy. But while those strategies are being set up, there are a lot of tactical quick wins worth looking at. And many of our B-Hive members can assist with that!” – Niek De Taeye, Chief of Operations


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Building Bridges from Brussels to the World Located in the heart of Europe, Belgium is home to a unique regulatory system, excellent research institutes and a well-diversified financial system. We at B-Hive believe in the strengths of Brussels as an important financial center. Yet, in order to position the capital city of Belgium as a smart gateway to Europe, we are aware that we need to focus our efforts in establishing international presence and influence to spread the message. On top of the launch in Tel Aviv, New York and London, in 2017, we have been present in eight major international events – including Sibos 2017 Toronto and Money20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, and have signed three agreements with European fintech hubs and organizations such as Innovate Finance, Holland Fintech and Stockholm Fintech Hub, on top of being one of the founders of GFHF.

We also solidified our partnership with Flanders Investment & Trade to advance our mission of positioning Brussels as an important financial center. As a result, our community is also growing beyond Belgium and now covers United Kingdom, France, Israel, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, USA and other EU countries.

“We are excited to work together with dynamic groups like the B-Hive community that share the same goal we do - to help drive innovation and digitization in the financial services industry. BNY Mellon strongly believes in partnerships and collaboration, and we look forward to teaming up on creating new opportunities and developing solutions that meet client needs. We are a proud member of the B-Hive community and are happy to celebrate their transatlantic movement in helping to foster creativity between the growing European and American members.” – Matt Joseph, Head of the BNY Mellon Jersey City Innovation Center

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B-Hive Hub Roadshow 2018 Building further on our mission to promote Brussels as a financial center, we are working with Flanders Investment & Trade and local hub partners in key European regions to organize a series of B-Hive Hub Roadshows. The goal is to foster active exchange of knowledge, network and expertise and strengthen collaboration with other fintech hubs. This year, we are inviting our corporate partners and tech-for-fin startups and scale-ups to join us for full-day sessions of pitching, matchmaking and networking.

Join our Hub Roadshow


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Final Remarks Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Chairman Looking ahead to 2018, B-Hive has ambitious plans that include, but are not limited to, a focus on community building, matchmaking, strengthening strategic programs and international positioning. We want to empower our community to participate in our strategic programs to create tangible solutions to challenges faced in the industry, while also helping connect them with the right people and companies on an international scale. With that in mind, we have several specific goals to achieve throughout the next year. In terms of our community - our members and partners - we want to increase their participation in our programs, and for those who are already participating, offer them more opportunities to be a part of programs in which they are interested. Through our Hub Roadshow, we plan to increase the number of members and partners within our ecosystem - both within Belgium and internationally. We also plan to increase collaboration with consulting partners and academia, as well as engage more with larger technology companies. Regarding our strategic programs in 2018, we are aiming to develop competence centers for foundational technologies. One of our top priorities is to continue and complete the delivery of projects we have started before we start new programs. And once we do begin the process of adding more programs, we will be selective in their content and delivery based on community input. Finally, I touched a bit on international positioning, which is a large part of what we do at B-Hive. We plan to implement the recommendations from the Minister of Finance’s high-level expert group that concluded late last year - this includes, but is not limited to: closing the digital skills gap, sourcing top talent in the industry and delivering a dashboard that gives an overview of the state of fintech in Belgium (which will be released in the coming weeks). But international positioning affects just about every aspect of B-Hive, including our community. In 2018, not only will our aforementioned Hub Roadshow give our community a chance to connect with various regions across Europe, but it will also be an opportunity to further strengthen the EU economy as a single market - collaboration is the key to creating a powerful ecosystem. Outside of the Hub Roadshow, we will also strengthen this collaboration by hosting a conference on September 26, Digital Finance Europe 2018, as well as by moving to a new, state-of-the-art facility in the center of Brussels toward the end of the year. I would like to thank everyone who has joined us on this exciting journey thus far, and we are thrilled to see where 2018 takes us. We believe we are making great strides in putting Brussels back on the map as the powerful financial center it is, and act as a smart gateway into the European market for years to come. Fabian Vandenreydt, Executive Chairman of B-Hive

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Growing the B-Hive Organization From Eggsplore to B-Hive, we have truly evolved as an organization and scaled up from a team of six to 18. We believe this new brand reflects perfectly our role in connecting the dots within the financial services industry and our end game to position Brussels as an important financial center.

Thank you to our shareholders and their partners for their continued support. We are excited to announce more partners joining the ecosystem this year - stay tuned for updates!

Interested in knowing more about our programs, activities and events for 2018? Get in touch. B-Hive De Kleetlaan 4 Diegem, Belgium 1831 Brussels | New York | London | Tel Aviv

Contact [email protected] Twitter: @bhive_eu | LinkedIn: B-Hive Europe www.b-hive.eu