EXCLUSIVE — Standard Bank Group, the largest bank in Africa, has joined the INV Fintech accelerator program as a partner, INV announced today.

INV is the sister accelerator of Bank Innovation.

Standard Bank, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, joins several financial services companies as INV partners. Partners participate in accelerator activities, including consider startups in the accelerator for investment, market trials and/or acquisition, as well as offer mentorship to startups in the program.

Standard Bank, in particular, will aid in opening the gateway to the African fintech market for INV’s startups.

INV Fintech was launched in 2015 and counts Fiserv as its lead Technology Partner.

Peter Schlebusch, Standard Bank Group Chief Executive of Personal and Business Banking, said in a statement that the bank was joining INV to gain “exposure to new start-ups and emerging technologies” that will enable “Standard Bank to learn and expose Africa to new technologies to drive her growth.”

US Bank, BB&T and Banco Sofisa of Brazil are among the other financial institutions in INV Fintech.