Virtual Global Demo Day focuses on the future of Fintech marketing
Fintech B2B Marketing Virtual Global Demo Day is around the corner, and excitement is in the air. The community announced the return of its flagship event, which is set to take place virtually on 19 October 2022.
Global Demo Day has become a staple in the Fintech, Martech and B2B communities as it brings top-class marketers in front of some of the most innovative technology and solutions to drive future business growth. What’s more, marketers get a chance to network on one forum ”“ the ultimate opportunity to learn from and grow with like-minded individuals.
Payal Reina, founder of the Fintech B2B Marketing community hosting the event says:
“Marketing is ever-changing, and we need to keep up with the trends to ensure we take our businesses into the future. Without the passion to constantly learn and improve our marketing skills, we risk being left behind.”
What’s to expect
Leading marketing solution providers will be on call to introduce the greater community with the latest, best-in-class technology to help solve your everyday marketing challenges.
“The sad truth is that many people still don’t know the true value of marketing, with many companies admitting to cutting marketing budget in light of trying financial times. As such, it’s always beneficial to not only know what tools and resources are available to improve your job, but also understand how it can contribute to your greater marketing strategies. The more you know, the better your chances of encouraging leaders to understand the importance of your marketing efforts,” adds Reina.
Some of the highlights expected at the event include discussions around innovative ways to drive new customer acquisition and retention, great operational efficiency, accelerated marketing automation, and reducing marketing costs, among others.
“Our Demo Day is the perfect environment to showcase innovative marketing offerings to marketers who need to stay in the loop and on top of their game,” adds Reina. “What’s more, there is no need to attend an in-person event as the event will be fully virtual, allowing for a completely comfortable and safe experience wherever you are in the world.”
Brands will have the option of showcasing their offerings in whatever way they feel comfortable, whether in the form of pitches, case studies, thought leadership and more.
The who’s who of Fintech marketing
Some of the past speaking and attending companies include global banks, fintechs, tech organisations, so you know you will be in good company. Business members of Fintech B2B Marketing Community will automatically get the opportunity to demo a solution at this event, while prospective sponsors are invited to reach out via email at eventsponsorship@fintechb2bmarketing.com.
Please join the FinTech B2B Marketing Community at the Global Demo Day event on the 19 October at 9am BST / Register here.
Blockchain, a key driver for economic growth
Article written by Maciej Zurawski, Founder and CEO, Musemantik
We all know technological innovations are a key driver of economic growth. Innovation is so essential to increase the productivity and efficiency of value creation that economists attribute a staggering 85% of the economic progress in the Twentieth century was to technological innovations. For those of you keeping score, that’s a little over five of every six dollars that the world economy grew by in the last hundred years can be directly credited to technological advancement. What may surprise you is just how much developing Blockchain technology can further this trend towards prosperity.
Blockchain is a novel development in computer science that can escalate economic growth radically through personal value creation. Fundamentally, it is a technology of distributed data and digital assets that are spread across a global, decentralised computer network. New data is chronologically recorded in blocks that are cryptographically in a permanent chain of synchronised information. This information shared is public and does not rely on any centralised actor for it to operate and consequently cannot be manipulated by corrupting information on a central server. Data contained within the blockchain is completely secure and trustworthy allowing for applied use of data in new and valuable ways. In the same way that instant communication revolutionised the economy, totally secure communication offers incredible economic, social, and societal benefits. We at Musemantik believe that the Scottish economy is particularly poised to adopt Blockchain and to take advantage of the myriad benefits adoption will bring.
In brief, we estimate a £2.46 billion contribution to Scotland’s GDP by 2030 as a consequence of information transparency, £1.1 billion in efficiency savings, and a £4.48 billion general increase in GDP as a consequence of adoption. [I] We encourage general implementation of blockchain solutions to capitalize on their benefits to create value for Scottish society. By encouraging socially responsible supply chain activities, implementing user-friendly health care systems, and reducing the costs of data transactions or financial intermediaries this have the potential to increase the national wealth substantially.
[i] The calculations are based on the figures in the “Time for trust” report of PWC (2020) and on the share of Scottish GDP from the total GDP of the UK.
Photo by RODNAE Productions: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-and-gold-round-coins-8370389/
New event connects global investors with Scottish scale-ups
A new business event aimed at helping scalable Scottish companies reach their full potential has been launched today. Invest2Scale, being staged on 2 November at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios, is aiming to address a gap in the market by supporting revenue-generating scalable Scottish companies by connecting them with VCs and other investors.
Invest2Scale will identify between 10-12 company founders who they will invite to participate in their new showcase event. The event programme will include networking sessions, industry discussions and other scale–up focused activities and involve an audience of senior figures from both the UK and global investment community.
Invest2Scale is being led by a group of leading business support organisations – law firm MBM Commercial, accountants Chiene + Tait, recruitment specialists Eden Scott, and Angel Capital Scotland (formerly Linc Scotland) – who are tapping into their networks to attract scale–up experts and other key figures from the investor community to the event.
Companies with a global focus and strong scale up potential are being invited to apply to be part of the Invest2Scale event. More details can be found at: www.invest2scale.com
Selected companies will be announced in October.
Stuart Hendry, Senior Partner at MBM Commercial said:
“Invest2Scale addresses a gap in the market by targeting revenue-generating companies with significant scalability. It does this in person as there is major value in bringing company founders and investors together in the same venue as opposed to attempting this interaction through online facility. This event is designed to enable strong businesses to progress to a higher level and to lay the foundations in creating the next Scottish unicorn.
“We are passionate about supporting scale–up businesses to help them make the most of global investment opportunities so they can reach their full potential.”
Alan Donald of Angel Capital Scotland said:
“Our partnership of highly regarded and well-connected corporate organisations, where we can access key figures within the global investment community through our networks, brings immense value to this event. Collectively we will also leverage our experience and close relationships within Scotland’s business community to help identify many of the companies that could maximise the impact of additional growth investment.
“In addition to the contribution of the founding partners, through Invest2Scale we will put ambitious high growth Scottish companies with scale–up funding aspirations in front of an invited audience of investors.”
Update from the Phoenix Innovation Forum
Article written by James Carroll, Digital Sustainability Manager for Phoenix Group
Last month, we announced the kick off of Phoenix Group’s first ever Innovation Forum was launched”“ created to deliver innovative solutions for the challenges 
faced by our customers, business and industry. This Forum is focusing on exploring solutions to two key pillars of our Customer Sustainability programme ”“ digital literacy and financial inclusion.
Since kick-off, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from across Phoenix Group have reviewed some fantastic submissions from FinTech innovators around the world. From a diverse range of solutions, the team narrowed the applications down to seven FinTechs who were invited to pitch their ideas.
Shortlist and pitch Session
On Wednesday 27 July, we welcomed the seven shortlisted innovators to pitch their ideas in the Innovation Lab at Standard Life House. The pitches gave a deeper insight into how these solutions could help our customers to secure a life of possibilities. Our SMEs scored each application against five key areas: target audience, the concept and our ambitions, timeline, resource need and scalability. They left the session with a real buzz after hearing how these solutions can benefit our customers and wider society – and with the difficult task of putting only three forward to the final.
Announcing the three finalists
We are delighted to announce that the finalists going forward to the last round of the inaugural Phoenix Group Innovation Forum are:
The solutions put forward by these finalists clearly align to the challenges we set with the teams providing a proof of concept that our panel of SMEs from across Phoenix Group believe have the potential to deliver the best outcomes for our customers.
The finalists have now been matched with two mentors from Leadership Teams within Phoenix whose role over the next five weeks is to support them in refining their concepts. The mentors will do a deep dive to establish the validity of the solution, which includes completing an assumption plotting exercise and evaluating the solutions scalability within the life stages of our customers. Mentors will also analyse feedback from the initial pitches and assess the commercial viability of the solutions.
We can’t wait for AirFunders, Behavioural Finance and Moroku to join us in the Innovation Lab again on the 22nd of September for the final pitches. We’ll also be joined by a panel of senior Phoenix leaders who will be considering which is the best fit to build a formal partnership with Phoenix Group. The winner will be announced on Thursday 29 September and we’ll work with the winning team to bring their exciting concept to life.
Photo by RODNAE Productions: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-black-blazer-standing-beside-white-board-7414008/
Hiring strategies for fintechs
Season 2, episode 6
Listen to the full episode here.
Fintech firms around the world are becoming more and more vocal about how difficult they find it to hire new colleagues. Whether it is the skills gap or the increase in salary levels, start-ups and scales-ups are not always best equipped to compete in a global and highly competitive market.
At the same time, many fintechs from around the world have and are still choosing Scotland to expand, finding it easier and sometime cheaper to recruit. So, is Scotland still attractive from a job market perspective?
In this podcast episode we’ll discuss how Scotland is positioned now the job market is really global in a post-pandemic world. We’ll also try to understand how Scotland is getting ready to face the growing tech talent demand. Finally, we’ll discuss strategies fintech companies can put in place to become attractive and retain talent.
Guests:
Pardeep Cassells – Head of Securities and Claims Products at Access Fintech
Justin Black – Business Director at Hays Technology Scotland
Killian McAlesse – Marketing Director at CodeClan
Marina Brizar – UK & Europe Director at Talent Beyond Boundaries
Big Boost for UK FinTech as FinTech Scotland Achieves Top Cluster Excellence Accreditation
FinTech Scotland Recognised as Leading Fintech Cluster Management Organisation in Europe
UK FinTech innovation has been given a significant boost with the announcement that FinTech Scotland has achieved a new level of Cluster Excellence accreditation.
The accreditation, which is the highest level achieved by a fintech body in UK and Europe, comes at a time when economic clusters are increasingly being highlighted by Government as an enabler in driving innovation. For example, the UK Government Innovation Strategy and Scottish Government Economic Transformation Strategy.
The globally recognised European Secretariat for Cluster Accreditation (ESCA) confirmed the excellence award for FinTech Scotland following an in-depth audit of the organisation’s progress and delivery record since the bronze level award was achieved in January 2020.
In confirming the silver cluster excellence award, ESCA highlighted several significant improvements by FinTech Scotland including,
- Supporting the growth in the number of Fintech SMEs by 22% year on year
- Leadership of increased cluster collaboration between fintech SMEs, large enterprises, universities, public sector bodies throughout the UK
- Producing UK’s first industry led 10-year Fintech Research & Innovation Roadmap
Sir Ron Kalifa OBE, author of the HM Treasury Fintech Sector Review in 2021, said
“Congratulations to FinTech Scotland who are a bellwether example of leveraging the outputs of fintech innovation and accelerating the regional fintech development and growth, the importance of which was highlighted in my FinTech Sector Review.”
“This excellent recognition is a testament to the FinTech Scotland model that Stephen and Nicola have led, and I know they are continuing to use their expertise to further advance national connectivity and provide support to UK regions through the FinTech National Network as well as the new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology”
Commenting, Stephen Ingledew, FinTech Scotland Executive Chair and founder said,
“I am very proud of the team in achieving this significant milestone and my sincere thanks to all the committed cluster participants. The award further recognises our leadership and collaboration across UK reinforcing the pivotal interdependence with each other in fostering progressive innovation within all regions, so the tide rises for everyone”
Highlighting the opportunity for further cluster development, Nicola Anderson, Chief Executive of Fintech Scotland said,
“The accreditation is a terrific platform to advance our strategy and execute the ground-breaking industry driven Research and Innovation Roadmap. Bringing together leaders from industry, entrepreneurial firms, academia, public sector, we will use our cluster expertise to drive innovation locally in Scotland and in collaboration throughout the UK”
“We are particularly excited about the innovation opportunities in open finance, regulation, payments, and climate finance. Through a collaborative and inclusive approach, these can contribute to addressing the challenging economic headwinds across the UK”
Catherine Martin, Vice Principal of University of Edinburgh, one of four organisations who led the formation of Fintech Scotland in 2018 commented:
“As a founding partner of Fintech Scotland, the University of Edinburgh is delighted to see this accreditation. It is a very gratifying achievement, and we look forward to building on our work with Fintech Scotland and its ever-growing number of partners.”
Jane Martin, Managing Director of Innovation and Investment at Scottish Enterprise said:
“Strong, effective and purposeful collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector is key to delivering much needed innovation and growth for Scotland. FinTech Scotland is a brilliant example of this in action.”