Two of the biggest names in finance and digital assets – Morgan Stanley and Zumo – have joined the Digital Trust Centre as Challenge Partners for its third Innovation Challenge, on tokenisation and digital assets, which they have helped shape alongside wider industry input.

The Challenge invites startups and SMEs to develop and test solutions against a real industry problem in the digital assets space. Selected teams receive:

• Grant funding of up to £50,000 to build and test their solution
• A structured development programme, with workshops, pitch training and one-to-one mentoring
• Real-world problem context and domain expertise from the Challenge Partners
• Direct access to our network of experts across industry, academia and government – and the market connections and pilot opportunities it opens

Previous challenges have helped teams form new companies, win interest from major institutions in financial services and beyond, and open routes into commercial opportunities.

Pre-registration is now open. The formal launch follows in early October, when the full challenge statement will be revealed and applications open.