Despite rising investments on BigData, AI and IoT in finance/insurance, financial and insurance organisations are still facing many challenges (i.e. data “silos”, regulatory complexity, lack of testbed resources) in realizing the full potential of these technologies. INFINITECH is a joint effort of global leaders in ICT and finance towards lowering the barriers for BigData/IoT/AI driven innovation, boosting regulatory compliance and stimulating additional investments. It will provide: 1)Novel BigData/IoT technologies for seamless management and querying of all types of data (e.g., OLAP/OLTP, structured/unstructured/semi-structured, data streaming & data at rest), interoperable data analytics, blockchain-based data sharing, real-time analytics, as well as libraries of advanced AI algorithms. 2)Regulatory tools incorporating various data governance capabilities (e.g. anonymization, eIDAS integration) and facilitating compliance to regulations (e.g., PSD2, 4AMLD, MIFiD II). 3)Nine novel and configurable testbeds & sandboxes, each one offering Open APIs and other resources for validating autonomous and personalized solutions, including a unique collection of data assets for finance/insurance. The project’s results will be validated in the scope of 14 high impact pilots providing complete coverage of the sectors, including Know Your Customer (KYC), customer analytics, personalized portfolio management, credit risk assessment, preventive financial crime analysis, fraud anticipation, usage based insurance, agro-insurance and more. INFINITECH will establish a market platform that will provide access to the project’s solutions, along with a Virtualized Digital Innovation Hub (VDIH) that will support innovators (FinTech/InsuranceTech) in their BigData/AI/IoT endeavors. Based on their strong footprint in the European digital finance ecosystem, the partners will engage stakeholders from all EU-28 countries, making INFINITECH synonymous to disruptive BigData/AI innovation in the target sectors.

The ultimate goal of the REFINE-project is to contribute to the supply of sufficient and attractive financing sources to energy efficiency investments through enhancement of refinancing schemes which are understood as important amplifier for market growth. Refinancing is an approach where an EES provider sells and a refinancing institution acquires receivables to be paid by an EES client. The project activities focus on the enhancement of refinanceability of energy efficiency projects, consisting of the following elements: Ensuring admissibility of refinancing schemes for energy efficiency projects; reducing transaction cost of refinancing schemes through standardisation; and facilitating risk assessment through increased transparency and use of credit guarantees. Based on the assessment of existing good practice examples, generic refinancing schemes are derived and supporting tools are developed, such as standardised contract stipulations and a rating system. The enlarged use of refinancing schemes in the energy efficiency business is stimulated by awareness raising among all relevant target groups and by capacity building improving know-how on practical implementation of refinancing schemes. The consortium covers 11 countries focussing on South and Eastern Europe since energy efficiency projects in these countries suffer most from financing barriers. The project applies a collaborative approach to all its project activities bringing together financial institutions, EES providers and facilitators.