According to Cointelegraph, Accenture has invested in fintech startup Emtech, which specializes in providing software-as-a-service to central banks and fintech companies. This strategic investment aims to integrate Emtech's products into Accenture's core banking services, enhancing their offerings in the financial technology sector.
Emtech, founded in 2019 by former IBM Blockchain executive Carmelle Cadet, has established a significant presence in the central banking sector. The company counts seven central banks, including those of Ghana, Nigeria, the Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and the Bahamas, among its clients. Additionally, Emtech developed a central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept for the Bank of the Republic of Haiti.
Emtech provides a range of services for central banks and fintech companies, including infrastructure for CBDCs, a regulatory sandbox feature, and a developing compliance feature for financial service providers. The company claims to have over 200 fintech clients. Cadet emphasized the importance of this investment and collaboration, stating that it reflects a shared vision to modernize banking infrastructure and processes for the era of tokenization. She highlighted that successful digital transformation at this scale requires cutting-edge technology and industry expertise.
While the terms of Accenture's investment were not disclosed, it was noted that Emtech will join the Accenture Venture Project Spotlight accelerator. In August 2023, Emtech secured $4 million in seed investment, following a $6 million pre-seed investment in 2022. Emtech employs a unified ledger model for its CBDC services and has partnered with Hedera Hashgraph to offer the Hedera Token Service and the Hedera Consensus Services. In July 2023, Emtech introduced its CBDC Innovation Kit simulator, which includes pre-built application programming interfaces.
Accenture has a history of involvement in the CBDC space, having worked with the Bank of Canada, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the European Central Bank, and the Swedish Riksbank. The collaboration between Accenture and Emtech extends to the Digital Dollar Project, a foundation led by former Commodity Futures Trading Commission head J. Christopher Giancarlo. Accenture is a founding member of the organization, and Emtech joined its Technical Sandbox Program in 2022.
The majority of the world's central banks are currently researching or testing CBDCs, indicating a significant global interest in digital currencies.
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