SC Ventures steps-up cross portfolio sales to unlock value to customers

Overview:

• Project Orion focuses on taking 30 ventures incubated by SC Ventures over eight years to market for client benefit.
  
• The strategy includes building a sales force, engaging strategic partners, and integrating ventures for holistic solutions.
  
• SC Ventures’ portfolio is unique because all solutions are institution-grade, tested, and regulator-compliant.
  
• Current priority is maximizing client value through integrated offerings rather than emphasizing sales targets.
  
• Success will be measured by how effectively ventures are combined to deliver comprehensive benefits to clients.

Standard Chartered’s innovation arm, SC Ventures, has unveiled Project Orion, a bold initiative to take 30 incubated ventures to market, aiming to deliver integrated solutions for clients worldwide.

A Unified Approach to Innovation

Project Orion marks a strategic shift for SC Ventures, which has spent eight years building ventures tailored to the bank’s needs.

Clifford Barnes, Managing Director at SC Ventures, explained the rationale: “We are employing a sales force to go to market and actually push the messaging of our products. We are engaging with strategic partners who can help us with that go-to-market journey. We are working with each of the ventures and pulling them together to ensure that we harness the best of what each venture offers to ensure that we can offer our clients a total solution”, he told BackgroundBriefing.news.

Institution-Grade Solutions

What sets this portfolio apart is its foundation in regulatory compliance and institutional standards. Every venture has been tested in real markets and built with regulators in mind, ensuring robust, scalable solutions for a regulated entity.

Measuring Success Beyond Numbers

While sales targets are part of the long-term vision, Barnes emphasized that the immediate focus is on client value: “Right now what we are looking at is how do we take each of those ventures and pull them together to ensure we are giving maximum benefit to our clients rather than necessarily focusing too much on what those numbers look like”, he told BackgroundBriefing.news.

With Project Orion, SC Ventures aims to transform its innovation pipeline into a cohesive offering, signaling a new era of integrated financial technology solutions.

More stories: India’s AI-Fintech boom draws global investment from SC Ventures

About the speaker:

Clifford Barnes
Managing Director
SC Ventures

Clifford Barnes, Managing Director at SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, is a seasoned leader in business transformation and innovation. Based in Singapore, Barnes brings over two decades of global experience across financial services, consulting, and retail. Prior to joining SC Ventures in June 2025, he served as Partner and APAC Specialist Lead at Oliver Wyman, where he led strategic initiatives for seven years. His career spans leadership roles at Sainsbury’s, Adecco Group, TelecityGroup, and Cadbury Schweppes, with a strong foundation in business systems and commercial strategy.

Barnes holds a Commerce degree in Business Systems Management from Deakin University and is a certified Prince 2 Practitioner. His expertise includes business intelligence, CRM, and process improvement, and he has worked across Australia, the UK, Sweden, and Singapore. Known for driving innovation and operational excellence, Barnes continues to shape the future of financial services through venture building and strategic leadership.

FAQs:

What is Project Orion?

Project Orion is SC Ventures’ initiative to take roughly 30 ventures, incubated over the past eight years, to market so clients can benefit from the full portfolio.

Why is SC Ventures launching Project Orion now?

SC Ventures is consolidating and commercializing its venture portfolio to ensure clients receive integrated, end‑to‑end solutions rather than fragmented offerings.

How will Project Orion go to market?

Three levers drive the go‑to‑market: (1) a dedicated sales force, (2) strategic partner engagement, and (3) tighter integration across all ventures to deliver total solutions.

What makes the SC Ventures portfolio unique?

Each venture was built from Standard Chartered Bank’s own needs, making solutions institution‑grade, market‑tested, and designed with regulators in mind.

Are there sales targets?

Sales targets exist, but the current priority is maximizing client value by combining venture capabilities rather than chasing near‑term numbers.

How will success be measured for Project Orion?

Success will be evaluated by how effectively the ventures are combined to deliver comprehensive benefits and total solutions to clients.

What role do regulators play in these ventures?

Because the solutions are built for a regulated bank, regulatory requirements are considered from inception—resulting in compliant, scalable products.

Who is leading the effort behind Project Orion?

Clifford Barnes, Managing Director at SC Ventures, articulated the strategy and the focus on coordinated go‑to‑market and client outcomes.

What benefits should clients expect?

Clients should expect integrated, institution‑grade solutions that draw on the best capabilities from multiple ventures to address end‑to‑end needs.

How were the 30 ventures developed?

They were incubated by SC Ventures over eight years, informed by Standard Chartered’s operational needs and tested with real market use cases.

5W1H summary:

Category	Summary
What	1. Project Orion unifies 30 ventures 2. Focus on integrated client solutions 3. Institution-grade, regulator-compliant products
How	1. Deploy dedicated sales force 2. Engage strategic partners 3. Combine ventures for total solutions
Why	1. Maximize client benefit 2. Scale tested innovations 3. Strengthen market positioning
Who	1. SC Ventures leadership 2. Clifford Barnes Managing Director 3. Strategic partners and sales teams
Where	1. Singapore headquarters 2. ASEAN regional markets 3. Global client base
When	1. After eight years incubation 2. Current market rollout phase 3. Long-term scaling strategy

Transcript of the interview:

Project Orion is about taking the roughly 30 ventures that Standard Chartered has incubated over the past eight years as part of SC Ventures and taking them to market. This ensures that our clients are getting the maximum benefit they can get from the entire portfolio of the ventures that we offer.

That is why we are doing three core things.

1. We are employing a sales force to go to market and actually push the messaging of our products.
2. We are engaging with strategic partners who can help us with that go-to-market journey.
3. We are working with each of the ventures and pulling them together to ensure that we harness the best of what each venture offers to ensure that we can offer our clients a total solution.

What is it actually about this portfolio that is so special and unique?

The most interesting part about SC Venture’s portfolio is that everything has been built from the needs of Standard Chartered Bank. This means everything we build is already institutionalized and institution grade.

It is already tested in the market and has been built with the relevant regulators in mind, especially since we are building for a regulated entity.

And ultimately, of course, being Salesforce, presumably there are some sales targets. How will you measure the success of all of this?

You are absolutely right, we have thought about sales targets and we do have a desire to get there. However, right now what we are looking at is how do we take each of those ventures and pull them together to ensure we are giving maximum benefit to our clients.

This is rather than necessarily focusing too much on what those numbers look like.