Fintech gets its voice heard at Davos

THE WORLD Economic Forum may be the go-to place for political leaders to rub shoulders but fintech trade body Innovate Finance is making sure its bustling sector gets heard in Davos.

The organisation has taken a delegation including peer-to-peer lender Zopa and other technology companies such as Bankable, Bitfury, Deposit Solutions, iwoca, Scalable Capitaland Yoyo Wallet, to the annual meeting in Switzerland this week.

Most are just observing and sharing information on their products with delegates but Innovate Finance did help arrange a panel with technology provider Infosys on the Rise of AI last night, as well as a fintech reception.

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“Bringing a fintech delegation to Davos gives some of our fast growing fintech startups a chance to meet with other attendees and to share their expertise, technology and knowledge in the fintech space, including distributed ledger technology, data analytics, wealth management, financial inclusion and mobile payments,” said Lawrence Wintermeyer, chief executive of Innovate Finance.

“Crucially we are here to discuss how the UK has become a major fintech hub through good, responsive leadership across key stakeholders within the political, social and business sectors.

“Across the political, business and academic landscape leaders must be in better tune with their communities and listen, and deliver tangible outcomes and benefits that better engage with and reflect the voice of the people – this is at the heart of responsive leadership.

“Fintech is about democratising finance and using innovation to provide better services for consumers that can help them to advance their social progress and improve economic development.”

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