Rockit, a fintech hub and startup program organizer in Lithuania, has unveiled the recipients of the 2024 Lithuanian Fintech Awards, recognizing this year’s top fintech leaders and trailblazers shaping the country’s fintech sector.
The 2024 Lithuanian Fintech Awards, the fourth iteration of the annual industry award event, recognize Lithuania’s fintech groundbreakers across seven key categories, highlighting their significant achievements and contributions to the ecosystem.
This year’s Company of the Year award went to payment startup Paystrax. The price celebrates excellence in the lending, investment or peer-to-peer (P2P) industries, recognizing the companies that are driving positive change within these markets and which are actively supporting the growth of businesses through their innovative approaches, strategies and services.
Founded in 2018, Paystrax provides payments services for merchants in the UK and the European Union (EU). These services range from conventional payment card processing, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and gateways, to fully custom solutions tailored to the business requirements of its customers.
Paystrax, which has offices in both the UK and Lithuania, claims a customer network of more than 500 merchants and retailers. The startup says it’s entirely bootstrapped with gross revenue topping EUR 20 million in 2022.
Amlyze is another recipient of a 2024 Lithuanian Fintech Award, winning the Fintech Enabler of the Year title for its second year in a row. This award celebrates the companies that are significantly contributing to the transformation of financial services through direct and innovative means, recognizing the ventures that are providing crucial support, technology or services that empower the broader fintech ecosystem. These companies operate in sectors such as cybersecurity, insurtech, regtech, analytics, big data, identity and financial software.
Founded in 2019, Amlyze is a regtech company that provides a comprehensive suite of anti-financial crime solutions for all types of financial services providers. The company’s products include real-time and retrospective transaction monitoring, customer risk assessment, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) investigations, politically exposed persons (PEPs), sanctions and adverse media screening. Amlyze is led by a team of experts in AML/CFT and former financial regulators.
The 2024 Fintech Leader of the Year award went to Gintare Baciuliene, the head of technology sector at Invest Lithuania, the country’s investment promotion agency. This award celebrates the exceptional individuals who are playing a pivotal role within the Lithuanian fintech community. These persons are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the fintech sector in Lithuania, demonstrating leadership, innovation and significant impact, and are considered trailblazers.
Baciuliene is a business leader with a successful track record in private, government, and non-profit sectors across Europe and Australia. She specializes in international business expansion, guiding entrepreneurs and established companies to achieve global growth objectives.
In the Fintech Growth Story of the Year category, alternative lender smeGO won this year’s award. The title celebrates the outstanding achievements of fintech companies that have demonstrated exceptional growth over the previous years. It recognizes companies that have achieved rapid and sustained growth in terms of users, revenue, or expansion into new markets through their hard work, excellence, and creativity.
Founded in 2016 and formerly known as SME Finance, smeGO offers data-driven financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Baltics and the larger EU, including business loans and credit lines, invoice finance, factoring, leasing, revenue-based financing, and embedded finance solutions for non-financial businesses or integrations for marketplaces.
smeGO says it has already provided more than EUR 1.3 billion in working capital to over 2,600 growing businesses across Europe, and claims it is a market leader in business-to-business (B2B) financing in the Baltics, with more than 50% of the market in Lithuania, and rapidly increasing market share in Latvia, Estonia, and Finland.
In the Fintech Impact of the Year category, HeavyFinance, an alternative lending startup, was recognized as the 2024 winner. This award acknowledges the significant positive influence of fintech startups or companies on the financial sector and beyond, recognizing true innovation that contributes to the environment, society, or governance.
Founded in 2020, HeavyFinance provides financing and loan schemes to companies in the sustainable agriculture sphere, with the goal of removing 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions by 2050. The company’s platform connects investors with sustainable and environmentally-focused projects, helping investors secure financial returns. It relies on an in-house underlying infrastructure that scores the borrowing capabilities of farmers and agricultural operators, facilitating transactions and administering loans more effectively.
HeavyFinance claims it has so far facilitated financing to more than 1,000 agricultural ventures in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal.
Super How?, a startup studio, is another recipient of a Lithuanian Fintech Award this year, winning the 2024 Fintech Innovator of the Year title. This award celebrates companies pushing the boundaries of innovation in the financial sector, recognizing the organizations leveraging cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet-of-Things (IoT), biometrics and robotics to develop forward-thinking solutions poised to shape the future of the industry.
Super How? is a research and development (R&D) company specialized in blockchain, AI and projects related to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The studio collaborates with enterprises and other industry stakeholders on pioneering finance initiatives and projects by integrating various domains, including fintech, the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Finally, the seven and last award of the 2024 Lithuanian Fintech Awards went to payment company Paysera. This award provides the general public with the opportunity to participate in the selection process of nominees or winners across various categories. Unlike other awards determined by a panel of experts, this award allows members of the public to cast their votes for their favorite candidates or projects. It emphasizes inclusivity and democratic involvement, giving individuals a chance to voice their preferences and contribute to the recognition of outstanding achievements.
Founded in 2004, Paysera provides fast, convenient, and affordable financial and related services globally. The company offers products ranging from a payment gateway for online shops, money transfers, currency conversion and payment cards, to an event ticketing platform, a parcel locker network and a top-notch finance management app.
Featured image credit: Rockit Vilnius Facebook
