FinTech West – our future plans
Over the last two years FinTech West has been increasingly active in the South West and has developed a national presence via our involvement in the FinTech National Network. In 2021 we plan to build on this progress so we can support the growth of FinTech in our region and beyond.
Following the launch of FinTech West in January 2019, we went on the host a variety of events including our biggest event to date, which took place within the inaugural Bristol Tech Festival. 2020 put a dent in the great momentum we were building with face-to-face seminars, but we’ve hosted a number of virtual events with strong engagement from across the South West and further afield. In future we aspire to deliver a blend of physical and virtual events, and to develop our reach via other activities such as enhanced communications and new ways for the region’s FinTech community to engage with each other.
2021 looks set to be an important year for FinTech in the UK. Over the coming weeks the UK FinTech Review, led by Ron Kalifa, will be published and is expected to strongly support the growth of the sector nationally across the UK. We have had the opportunity to provide input to the Review via our role in the FinTech National Network, which is led by Innovate Finance. Additionally, a number of the FinTech community from the South West have contributed to the Review via their involvement in the workstreams that make up the review, not least the ‘national connectivity’ chapter which has been led by Tech Nation.
We feel now is the right time to expand the reach and impact of FinTech West, to help support the development of the South West FinTech ecosystem and drive the economic growth that FinTech can help deliver to the regional and national economy.
Plans include:
Delivery of more frequent events, including seminars, webinars, roundtables and an annual conference.
Stronger links to the other regional FinTech ecosystems in the UK, and international locations.
Forming an advisory board to provide insight, support and guidance.
The creation of an Engagement Manager role to provide support for marketing, event management, business development and relationship management.
These plans will require funding, which we intend to raise primarily via sponsorship. To date FinTech West has run entirely on the goodwill of the organising team of Stuart Harrison and Whitecap Consulting, including covering any financial costs. Additionally, venues, catering and promotional support have been provided by various supportive organisations within the regional FinTech community including Clarke Willmott, PwC, UWE, TLT, DAC Beachcroft and Hargreaves Lansdown.
We have identified a number of routes via which we will fund our future activities:
Annual partnerships for organisations wishing to support FinTech West, starting from just £500 (all partners will have their logo displayed on the FinTech West website and at all events)
Event-based sponsorship opportunities for organisations seeking to co-create and/or be key sponsors of specific events and activities
Optional donations to FinTech West when booking onto events via Eventbrite
Commercial partnerships with organisations who provide services which are relevant to the FinTech West community
To get involved in any of the above please contact us info@fintechwest.co.uk
We have decided against becoming a membership organisation, as we intend to remain as inclusive as possible rather than adopting a model that would exclude non-members. We want everyone to feel they are a member of the FinTech West community.
Public sector funding is another route we have considered, and we remain open minded about. We feel FinTech West benefits greatly from being a flexible and dynamic organisation with streamlined decision making which is aligned to the best interests of the FinTech community. We aspire to retain these characteristics.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported FinTech West over the last 2 years, and we hope to have you all with us on the journey through 2021 and beyond.