UK fintech leaders unite for first Northern Ireland Fintech Symposium
Fintech leaders across the UK will head to Belfast next week for the first Northern Ireland (NI) Fintech Symposium, to explore how to “supercharge” the sector’s growth.
The inaugural event will take place on 23 March in Belfast City Centre and will be hosted by Fintech NI. It follows the release of a Deloitte report into NI fintech sector strategy last September, which revealed that fintech now contributes £392m to the region’s economy, with the potential to create thousands more jobs and attract over £25m in foreign direct investment in the next three years.
The symposium will hear from representatives of fintech clusters in Scotland, the West Midlands and the North of England, as well as fintech trade body Innovate Finance.
It takes place just one year after the Kalifa Review into UK fintech was published, which put NI among the 10 leading emerging clusters for fintech in the UK.
Read more: Kalifa Review: One year on
The event will examine what work is required to “supercharge the sector”, including connecting small- and medium-sized enterprises with investors, addressing barriers to skills and talent and developing new funding networks for young fintechs.
The Northern Ireland Fintech Symposium 2022 is supported by A&L Goodbody, Invest Northern Ireland, Deloitte and Fintech Nexus.
Read more: Kalifa calls fintech innovation centre funding ‘final piece of the jigsaw’
“As the independent voice of fintech in Northern Ireland, Fintech NI exists to promote the region as a leading global fintech hub,” said Andrew Jenkins, chair of Fintech NI and the Treasury’s fintech envoy for Northern Ireland.
“We have known for quite some time now that the local sector punches well above its weight, however significant advancements in the last few years, including the launch of the three-year strategy, have shown we are on the cusp of much more.
“On track to generate thousands more jobs and attract up to £25m in foreign direct investment in the next three years, now is the time to bring together the fintech ecosystem and celebrate its strength and vibrancy with our counterparts across the UK.”
(Photo L-R: George McKinney, director of technology and services at Invest NI, Andrew Jenkins, chair of Fintech NI and fintech envoy for Northern Ireland, Roisin Finnegan, NI fintech lead at Deloitte and Chris Jessup, finance partner at A&L Goodbody.)