FinTech West - South Coast Showcase
On 31st January we ran the South Coast Showcase in the wonderful Fusion Building at Bournemouth University - thanks to BU for providing such great facilities and support! For more information about contacts and working with BU, see BU Business Services Brochure. Thanks also go to Worksity in the form of Saffron Cave from BU on photography and Em Schug from BU on videography at the event with Nima Cooper from Bournemouth and Poole College undertaking the video editing with Adib Cherit from Arts University Bournemouth covering the motion graphics for the video.
We had an extremely busy agenda more suited to a whole day conference but the purpose of the event was to showcase, in short snippets, how extensive the entire FinTech ecosystem is from investment to academia to professional services as well as the FinTechs and tech firms themselves.
Kicking matters off was Vikki Slade, the Leader of BCP Council and Parliamentary candidate. Her keynote was a refreshing, positive outlook on the importance of digital technologies and how they can bring great value to the region and help transform from traditional to modern industry and employment.
We (namely, Stuart Harrison and Matthew Stammers) covered the local FinTech ecosystem as reported in the Whitecap Consulting South West FinTech Ecosystem Report before announcing the intended Dorset & BCP FinTech Ecosystem Research and the South Coast Strategy including the evolving Steering Group. Already the region has an estimated £165m FinTech GVA – where could it be in three or five years? To get involved and support, see Ecosystem Proposal.
Peter Eales gave an interesting insight into the operation and interests of Dorset Business Angels, who as “the Dragon’s Den for Dorset” have invested £4.5m into 28 businesses over the years. They have a very diverse set of interests and investments and always looking for more!
We then heard from Joe Parkin, who not only is the Managing Partner of the new national FinTech Growth Fund but a resident of close by Salisbury. Joe explained how it was an initiative that came out of the Kalifa Review aiming at growing FinTechs. As a high profile fund, it’s great to have Joe “on the doorstep”.
Cybersecurity celebrity, Jake Moore from ESET, provided an amusing but also thought provoking look at security threats and how, with the advent of AI, we need to keep ahead of the game with such techniques as “deep fakes” and “phishing” around. When you see a deep fake video with Jake speaking Spanish and you can’t tell it from the real Jake, it’s both funny and scary.
Next we got to hear more about the Barclays Eagle Labs Demo Directory thanks to Mark Walker. This is an entirely free, online facility for founders seeking investment and for investors looking to make investments. Having only been launched in October last year, it already has 215 listings live with over 150 investors registered. Why wouldn’t you use it?
Jayne Sibley founder of Sibstar came next with an inspiring story of family challenges involving dementia being the spark for their FinTech app to manage money. With the product live and partners such as the Alzheimer’s Society and Mastercard, the future is bright. Jayne certainly had a lot of interest from the event.
Teamed, in the form of Steen Stones, then described how they are combining tech and talent to simplify global employment with a solution taking away the complexity that often arises when trying to handle recruitment and payroll across several countries.
Worksity, with founder Amin Pasandideh, explained how they are helping deliver creative projects for local businesses by providing talented local students and have been doing so for nearly 7 years. What a great idea and judging by the photography and video work they did at the event, we’ve no hesitation in recommending!
More concerns around cybersecurity from a data driven angle were then covered by Sandy Porter, the founder of Avoco. Fascinating to hear of their work with the Scottish Government and the likes of major UK banks with activities such as verifying age and other important data factors, all done from a location with views of Corfe Castle!
Dr Festus Adedoyin, from Bournemouth University, then spoke about engaging with the University across the ecosystem. Sometimes industry doesn’t know how or where to go, but Festus left us in no doubt by describing various ways engagement can happen and who to speak to.
A common challenge is connecting FinTechs and financial services firms together and hence it was a pleasure to hear from Barbara Gottardi the founder and CEO of Finbridge that they have a solution. With around 50 FinTechs already signed up and connecting with established financial institutions, definitely worth exploring!
Finally, we got to hear from Matt Hyde, the MD of The FinTech Awards South West. Originally from Poole, Matt explained the success of the regional FinTech Awards events his team runs including last years for the South West. The next one is coming up in July and we’ll be sure to let you know more about it.