In the financial innovation challenge “FinQuest Coopetition 2026”, students develop solutions over the course of a month for preventing fraud and financial scams in the age of artificial intelligence, promoting investment habits, as well as developing sustainable pension savings.
The financial innovation challenge “FinQuest Coopetition 2026” was organised by Riga Technical University (RTU) Riga Business School and the Design Factory, while real‑world challenges of the financial sector were defined for students, young professionals, and innovation enthusiasts by such financial and technology companies as “Visa”, “TWINO”, and “Indexo”.
In the “TWINO” challenge, the RTU Riga Business School student team “InSpark” won by developing a concept for a gift‑based investment platform that helps users build their first positive investment experience by receiving investments as a gift.
In the “Indexo” challenge, first place was won by the RTU Riga Business School student team “Fluxion” with a personalized pension savings system that automatically adjusts the investment amount to the user’s financial situation and integrates into mobile banking applications. Meanwhile, in the “Visa” challenge, the winning team was “SW1FT” from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga), which developed a solution that, using behavioral analysis and machine learning, enables the identification of suspicious payments and reduces the risk of financial fraud even before the transaction is confirmed.
The total prize fund of “FinQuest Coopetition 2026” was 6,000 euros, and the winners in each category received 2,000 euros.
The final works were evaluated by a jury — Nauris Bloks, CEO of “TWINO”; Artūrs Roze, Member of the Management Board of IPAS “Indexo”; Evita Kalmane‑Pivkina, Senior Client Relationship Manager at “Visa”; Tīna Lūse, Head of the association “Fintech Latvia”; and Laima Tropa, Finance and Administrative Director of the “Outlast” fund.
The teams’ solutions were assessed based on the impact of the idea, innovation, feasibility, business viability, as well as the quality of presentation and communication.
Participants of the program took part in workshops, mentoring sessions, and team activities, developing their ideas together with industry experts.
In total, 74 team applications were received for the competition, of which 30 teams with 86 participants were selected. Over the course of a month, five in‑person sessions, four workshops, and hundreds of mentoring meetings with more than 70 mentors took place.
