Welcome Account is a startup using technology to facilitate the integration of immigrants arriving in France and Europe.
The startup has created a banking application with a conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI Service, in order to help people manage their finances and administrative procedures.
This multilingual agent already assists no less than a thousand refugees on a daily basis.
The neobank Welcome Account is at the crossroads of Fintech and HR Tech. It was created two years ago to support newcomers in France and Europe as they settle in.
The Microsoft startup incubator supported the startup in its development as it intended to exploit the potential of cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI, in order to promote the economic and social inclusion of this population. Rooh Savar, CEO, and Caroline Span, COO, talk to us about this innovative and human-centered approach.
"90 million immigrants are living in Europe and three million people from outside Europe are coming here every year to work, study, or for humanitarian reasons. Whatever their history or background, these people encounter difficulties in integrating," Caroline Span reminds us.
This observation was confirmed over the years by current events, and in particular with the Ukraine conflict which acted as a trigger for the project. "Large-scale crises highlight shortcomings in the inclusion of refugees,"explains Rooh Savar, "which is why, four days after the start of the war in Ukraine, we decided to take action by launching Welcome Account."
In concrete terms, Welcome Account is an enhanced banking application that enables newcomers to “better manage their settlement,” combined with a personal assistant based on generative AI. Finding accommodation, accessing the banking system, understanding how taxes work, sending children to school, renewing residence permits... It takes an average of ten years for an immigrant to find his or her place in society, warns Rooh Savar. As a solution, the startup has set itself the mission of reducing this time lapse by offering people the means to integrate more easily, while simplifying the procedures for the companies and universities that welcome them. “Our virtual assistant is designed to read and analyze the expenses incurred by each user, in order to give them management advice on a day-to-day basis,” and, Rooh Savar adds, “it also makes recommendations concerning extra-financial needs.”
Tackling sensitive issues such as immigration, finance, and work, among others, the project could not be completed without a technological framework to match the stakes. "We help people in precarious situations. They trust us, and we can't afford to make any mistakes,"insists Rooh Savar, pointing out that the Microsoft environment, in particular Azure OpenAI Service, meets just this imperative. “The technology Microsoft provides is perfectly suited to our sensitive context; it covers our requirements in terms of security, reliability, and generative AI.”
As winners of the Microsoft Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact and Microsoft GenAI Studio programs, Caroline Span and Rooh Savar benefited from the publisher's technical know-how. They were also mentored throughout the deployment of the application. This collaboration first enabled the production of an initial prototype of the tool, then its rapid implementation: "The Microsoft experts were a great help. Thanks to them, the application was deployed almost immediately,"enthuses Caroline Span.
As a result, the conversational agent now covers seven languages, including several non-European ones, and is used by about one thousand customers. By the end of 2024, the neobank plans to add eight more languages and hopes to double its user base.
But the startup's ambition doesn't stop there: “We want to move up a gear and provide our services to a million users by 2029,”says Rooh Savar. For the CEO and his teams, it is essential to enrich Welcome Account with new functionalities—such as voice communication—in order to move towards an ever more personalized solution, capable of addressing the specific needs of each and every refugee arriving on European soil.
To make this "large-scale inclusive service"a reality, the company plans to continue working with Microsoft, and its exploration of generative AI. “We wouldn't be able to go this far without Microsoft's technology and support, which bring real credibility to our approach and the necessary dose of innovation.”
The technology Microsoft provides is perfectly suited to our sensitive context; it covers our requirements in terms of security, reliability, and generative AI.
Rooh Savar, CEO, Welcome Account
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