Turning the Tide: How SensFish Is Powering Better Maritime Investment and ESG Decisions
Financial institutions are sharpening their focus on climate risk, ESG disclosures, and sustainable investment. At the same time supply chains, shipping emissions and biodiversity-linked investment products, are increasingly on the balance sheet but reliable, decision-ready data has been hard to come by.
The Challenge: Ocean Impact, Low Visibility
Financial stakeholders are under pressure to assess the environmental impact and transition readiness of companies operating in ocean-related sectors. Yet data on maritime carbon emissions, biodiversity, and regulatory compliance remains fragmented, inconsistent, or inaccessible, making it difficult to price risk accurately, validate sustainability claims, or identify new opportunities.
The Solution: Ocean Intelligence for Finance
SensFish delivers a scenario-led analytics platform that turns open, maritime-specific data into actionable intelligence. The solution integrates historical, real-time, and predictive datasets such as satellite tracking, vessel surveillance, and ecosystem modelling. By doing so, SensFish enables users to:
- Quantify and forecast carbon impact across maritime supply chains (including sequestration potential and emissions),
- Verify compliance with sustainability standards (e.g. reducing IUU fishing via vessel monitoring),
- Support biodiversity-linked investments through monitoring of wild fish stocks and aquaculture patterns,
- De-risk projects by modelling scenarios for ESG outcomes, operational constraints, and regulatory exposure.
All this is delivered in a user-friendly platform that simplifies complex data and aligns with global Net Zero and ocean disclosure frameworks, turning compliance into strategy and reporting into opportunity.
SensFish’s traction is growing. In the past year, the company has:
- Been selected for the European Space Agency Business Incubation Programme,
- Partnered with UNCTAD and presented at the Monaco Ocean Finance Forum, part of the UN Ocean Conference,
- Joined the Innovate UK InvestAbility programme and Converge Net Zero cohort,
- Secured support from Glasgow City Council and received international investor interest,
- Onboarded a publicly listed UK client with global operations.
These milestones reflect a rising demand for deeper ocean intelligence among forward-looking financial institutions and corporates alike.
Discover more about SensFish
Discover Agentic Workflows, the fintech revolutionising productivity with AI
6 months’ worth of work, completed in under 5 minutes, for less than 1 pence.
It’s a bold claim from Glasgow-based startup Agentic Workflows, and it’s turning heads in the AI space. By taking a highly innovative approach to Generative AI, they’ve built a platform that replaces cumbersome business processes with AI-powered “Agentic Workflows,” dramatically cutting costs, streamlining operations, and enhancing agility.
Rob Spencer, Founder and CTO, has been at the forefront of cutting-edge technology for most of his adult life. He started his career maintaining and calibrating weapon systems on the front line, later moving into IT, initially teaching Computer Science and practical IT at the Royal School of Signals. Following that, he transitioned into Financial Services in the City of London, where he led complex technical rollouts and transformational change initiatives.
It is that transformational change experience which provides the bedrock for Agentic Workflows. Imagine your company completing six months of work in under five minutes, at a fraction of the cost—how would that revolutionise your organisation’s productivity, customer service, and competitive edge?
Now, as a proud new member of the Fintech Scotland community, Agentic Workflows is eager to engage with fellow innovators, scale-ups, and established enterprises alike. Fintech firms often grapple with regulatory compliance, KYC processes, fraud detection, and operational inefficiencies, areas where AI-driven workflows could deliver immense value. By automating repetitive tasks and leveraging advanced data analytics, businesses can enhance their operational resilience, reduce costs, and streamline onboarding or transactional processes.
Moreover, generative AI has the potential to transform how customer interactions are handled, delivering hyper-personalised financial solutions and insights. Agentic Workflows’ platform aims to bridge the gap between technology potential and real-world application, helping firms quickly deploy AI solutions without the typical complexities and overheads of large-scale software projects. As the fintech ecosystem continues to evolve, partnering with an agile AI platform can be a powerful way to stay ahead in a competitive market.
With the technology developed and the platform built, Agentic Workflows is now looking to understand the challenges you face. If you’re exploring ways to harness the transformative power of AI within your organisation, or if you simply want to discover the art of the possible, please get in touch via the Agentic Workflows website. We look forward to collaborating with you and helping shape the future of financial services in Scotland and beyond.
Discover Nethermind as they join the FinTech Scotland Community
Nethermind, a fintech that specialises in blockchain research and engineering company, just joined the FinTech Scotland community.
This contributes to Nethermind’s ongoing expansion and aligns with its strategic efforts to drive innovation within the financial technology landscape of Scotland.
As part of its expansion, Nethermind has established its Hardware Research and Development arm in Edinburgh led by Nathan Jay, Head of Hardware Engineering, leading product development of new technologies applicable to digital identity, blockchain and fintech.
By being part of Fintech Scotland, Nethermind will position itself at the heart of Scotland’s technological development in financial services, leveraging the country’s rich academic resources and its thriving hubs of engineering excellence such as the National Robotarium and The Data Lab.
“Joining FinTech Scotland represents a significant step in our growth strategy,” said Antonio Sabado, Chief Growth Officer, Nethermind. “We are excited to work alongside other industry leaders and contribute to Scotland’s vibrant fintech community. Our expertise in blockchain infrastructure and commitment to innovation perfectly aligns with FinTech Scotland’s vision for the future of financial technology.”
Through this partnership, Nethermind is looking forward to actively participate in FinTech Scotland’s community, with the long-term vision of contributing to Scotland’s innovative fintech sector and advancing financial services innovation.
Scottish fintech GiftRound’s Wins the Great British Entrepreneur Awards
GiftRound was named the Innovation Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2024 Great British Entrepreneur Awards (GBEA) thanks to its remarkable contributions to the group gifting market, making the processes more inclusive and efficient.
A Win for GiftRound and Scottish Entrepreneurship
Held at the Grosvenor House in London, the awards ceremony brought together top innovators and changemakers from across the UK. GiftRound’s recognition was a proud moment for the company but also for Scotland’s vibrant FinTech community.
Founder and CEO Craig Forsythe shared his thoughts:
“It was great to attend the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in London and be in a room full of amazing entrepreneurs representing such a broad spectrum of industries. To have GiftRound recognised as a winner is an amazing achievement and recognition of our journey and the amazing efforts of our dynamic team who are passionate about making group collections easier.”
This prize reflects GiftRound’s innovative approach to solving everyday challenges in group gifting—creating a seamless, secure, and inclusive platform for managing group collections. GiftRound puts customers at the centre of the experience, setting a new benchmark in the sector.
Recognising the Impact of Entrepreneurs
The GBEA, often described as “The Grammys for Entrepreneurship,” is in its 12th year of honouring individuals and businesses that drive innovatio.
Francesca James, founder of the awards, emphasised the significance of this recognition:
“This year’s winners collectively generate over £3 billion in turnover and employ over 20,000 people. These extraordinary individuals are not only transforming industries but also uplifting communities and inspiring the next generation of business leaders.”
What’s Next for GiftRound?
The GiftRound team remains focussed on expanding their impact, enhancing user experiences, and driving innovation in the group gifting space. They’ll continue to empower communities and bring people together through technology.
Lloyds Banking Group Partners with Scottish FinTech Inbest to Launch New Benefits Calculator
Lloyds Banking Group has partnered with Scottish fintech Inbest to launch a new tool aimed at helping millions of UK households access unclaimed benefits. The benefits calculator, now available in the Lloyds mobile banking app, is designed to bridge the gap between people and the £23 billion of unclaimed benefits such as Universal Credit and council tax support.
How It Works
The calculator is simple and intuitive. Users start by answering six quick questions about their household, income, and living situation. Based on this initial input, the tool provides an estimate of potential benefits they might be entitled to. For a more detailed analysis, users can complete a five-minute questionnaire to receive a final summary of their benefits eligibility.
If eligible, the calculator doesn’t just stop at telling users what they might claim; it also provides direct links to begin the application process. Additionally, the tool highlights potential grants for home improvements or energy efficiency upgrades.
Tackling a National Problem
Lloyds Banking Group’s initiative is a direct response to the estimated eight million UK households missing out on financial support. With the cost-of-living crisis intensifying, the “More Money in Your Pocket” hub in the Lloyds app aims to provide tangible assistance to those who need it most.
Since its soft launch, the benefits calculator has already helped thousands of users identify new sources of financial support. The tool is available on both iOS and Android devices, ensuring broad accessibility for Lloyds customers.
A Collaboration for Impact
This innovative solution was developed in partnership with Inbest, a leading Scottish fintech specialising in financial inclusion technology. Inbest’s expertise in building user-friendly tools to simplify financial complexity was instrumental in creating the benefits calculator.
FinTech Scotland, which supports collaborations like this, continues to highlight the power of partnerships between established financial institutions and fintech innovators. By joining forces, Lloyds Banking Group and Inbest are leveraging technology to deliver impactful financial solutions for everyday consumers.
“We’ve launched Benefit Calculator, helping customers to identify the benefits they may be eligible for and providing clear guidance on making a claim.”
This partnership with Inbest is a testament to the growing importance of fintech collaborations in addressing societal challenges. By combining Lloyds’ reach and resources with Inbest’s innovative capabilities, this initiative marks a significant step towards greater financial inclusion across the UK.
Scottish Fintech Level E Research Leads the Charge in Satellite Data Innovation
Satellite Data for Smarter Decision-Making
Level E Research develops AI-driven solutions that help organisations make better, data-informed decisions. With this new funding, the company aims to extend its capabilities by integrating satellite data into its existing AI frameworks. This integration will allow businesses to benefit from real-time data that can significantly enhance their strategic planning, risk management, and operational efficiency.
The use of satellite data offers a wealth of possibilities, from monitoring environmental changes to optimising supply chains. For example, by analysing satellite imagery, businesses can gain insights into everything from agricultural yields to urban development trends, enabling them to make more informed decisions that are both timely and impactful.
Advancing Financial Services through Satellite Insights
Level E Research’s specialises in the financial services sector, where their AI solutions are already helping clients navigate complex market conditions with greater confidence. The addition of satellite data to their analytical toolkit is expected to revolutionise how financial institutions assess risk and predict market movements.
For instance, satellite data can provide valuable information on economic activities, such as the level of industrial output in a particular region or the state of infrastructure development. These insights can be crucial for financial institutions looking to invest in emerging markets or assess the impact of natural disasters on their portfolios.
A Collaborative Effort for Maximum Impact
The success of these satellite data pilots depends on collaboration across industries. By working with other organisations in the pilot program, Level E Research will be able to refine its models, ensuring that the solutions developed are both practical and scalable.
Moreover, the insights gained from these pilots are expected to have a ripple effect across various sectors, from agriculture to insurance, demonstrating the broad applicability of satellite data when combined with cutting-edge AI.
How Ionburst is helping to protect critical data in a hybrid world
“It’s critical financial institutions consider how they can best mitigate risk. With Ionburst’s platform, we’re working to give organizations control and visibility over their data everywhere. IBM Cloud’s focus on compliance and security is helping us make this possible and enabling us to give customers confidence that their data is protected ”“ which is critically important in the financial services sector”
Photo by Manuel Geissinger: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-server-racks-on-a-room-325229/
FinTech and Space ”“ propelling Scotland forward
We all know that two heads are better than one so imagine the power of two of Scotland’s strongest and most innovative industries coming together to develop tools and capabilities to tackle large scale challenges.
“FinTech meets Space” event in January was the first in a series of joint activities between FinTech Scotland and Space Scotland to spark collaboration between the two clusters and harness the power of cross sector working.
The event brought together thought leaders, industry experts, academics, government agencies, innovators and corporates to start the process of understanding how two very different industries can utilise the capabilities of each other to face off to solve real time challenges.
“You don’t know what you don’t know, so be open to possibilities” was the provocation that started the day off, and it certainly worked. Conversations ranged from the strength of Scotland as a centre of excellence in both fields, to leading edge use of Spatial data to tackle unexpected issues in the health and social care sectors, to more focussed discussions on some live use cases within Financial Services.
These examples spanned a wide range of activities, including understanding insurance risks, building confidence in investments, supporting emerging regulatory requirements and a number of areas of ESG development.
Presentations from Global Surface Intelligence, D-CAT, AstroSat and Earthblox brought some of the possibilities to life, with a joint presentation from the FinTech and Space leads at the University of Strathclyde reinforced the potential for interconnection and collaboration.
The objective of this event was to introduce and to spark conversations between the sectors ahead of a broader Accelerator programme funded by the UK Space Agency.
The programme which will run over the course of a number of months will take the live problem statements and use cases which sparked such enthusiasm in the room and create the opportunity for us to all come together and start working on some tangible prototypes and solutions
We will build on the connections made in the room to form some long lasting relationships and potentially partnerships across our sectors. The potential is vast and the opportunity for Scotland to build on our strengths in both domains to become a world leader in this area is hugely exciting”¦”¦ watch this space!
Introduction to Scottish fintech Alluvie
Article written by Emmanuel Bernieri, founder and CEO at Alluvie
It’s a safe bet for me to assume that most of you have already had conversation with a friend, acquaintance, or relative about cryptocurrency or the current stocks skyrocketing everyone’s talking about. You may even have spent at least a few minutes daydreaming about investing some money, doing THE smart move, based on your greatest hunch, and multiplying your investment by 2, by 10 or more in a matter of weeks.
Perhaps Tesla should be the horse you should bet on? Or what about Gamestop? Dogecoin?
Lately, new brokers have entered the game, such as eToro and Robinhood. Their marketing is impeccable. Their ads keep popping up on our feeds on all the apps and websites we use, making us the very sweet promise only 0 fees trading app can make.
Because as non-professional traders, we are their target.
Indeed, today the market of non-professional investors (also known as retail investors) is booming. More than 100 million individuals around the world are investing money on financial markets. A booming market! But there is a catch: a recent large-scale study focusing on this emerging market has shown that, on average, 80% of us, retail investors, will lose money on financial markets. Less than 1% will be profitable in the long run. It’s a lesser chance than winning the Hunger Games, if you’ll allow me. Sure, trading can be a hobby!, but the hard cold reality is coming right back at us. It’s not magic, and it can’t be just luck. Skills are required and it can even be a full-time job for some of us. You may need mathematical skills, coding ones, or even law, geopolitics, etc.
While most people believe that trading is just knowing the right information before anyone else, the reality is different. 99 times out of 100, being a good trader means analyzing a situation and trying to balance the risk/reward inherent to the situation. Guts, glitter, and speedy heated arguments phone calls are just completely outdated since we’ve entered the era of algorithmic traders. Now, a professional trader/team of traders build and rely on algorithms able to define when to buy and when to sell a selected financial asset.
Nowadays, we estimate between 60 and 80% of the share of total orders on the US market that comes from algorithms. The problem with algorithmic trading is that it requires hundreds of hours just to build your coding environment to test your trading strategy properly.
This is the main reason why, at Alluvie, we have decided to build a platform where anybody can test their ideas on historical data before executing it. In a nutshell, we are taking care of all the technicalities. Thanks to our platform, you can test ideas on the fly without having to know how to code. You just need to write your rules of buying and selling (when to buy and when to sell) and then select the assets on which you want to test your strategy, and that’s it. You will automatically access the backtest of your strategy and you will be able to assess the quality of your idea before
making a bold move without prior knowledge.
Of course, we know that lots of retail investors don’t really know what their strategy could be. That’s why we are continuously creating trading strategies that are free to use by any of our members and we also develop a marketplace where other retail investors will rent their trading strategies to others. Finally, we are also developing direct bridges with brokers to fully automatize your strategy, if and when you are happy.
Our goal is to make your investment safer, easier to manage and more profitable in just a few clicks, with no hassle, no hidden hurdles and as few steps as possible. The platform is already live. You can register now and test it for free for 1 month.
Don’t waste your time trying to “feel” the market!
Join us and make the right move today. We are waiting for you. Welcome to trading 3.0.
Unlock the Power of MSc Student Projects
The University of Edinburgh postgraduate students will utilise their unique knowledge and skills to conduct short pieces of research for the benefit of business and third sector organisations. We are looking for proposals for company-driven projects for several MSc programmes relevant to Fintech and the Financial Services sector. We are particularly interested in data-driven topics in applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, data analytics, cryptofinance and blockchain, distributed finance, portfolio optimization, and behavioural and predictive modelling.
Do you have a business challenge that would benefit from a piece of research and analysis in this area? We are looking to project ideas for our MSc students until the end of December 2022. Projects will be supported by our world-leading academics and delivered by our students over Summer 2023.
Want to learn more?
- Come to our event, Company focused FinTech projects’ on 24th October 2022, 1:30-5pm at the University of Edinburgh Business School Auditorium (includes networking over drinks)
- Unable to join in person? Feel free to sign up anyway: there will be an option to join the presentations remotely.
- Already have an idea in mind and just keen to get started, or another way you’d like to collaborate with the University? E-mail Marina, the University of Edinburgh Business Development Executive, at marina.duka-jenkins@ei.ed.ac.uk
What are the benefits to your organisation?
- Use the results produced for your own (commercial) purposes free of charge
- Raise your profile as a potential employer amongst prospective graduates with specialised knowledge and skills
- Begin or continue to engage with the University of Edinburgh’s expertise
“Working with the MSc in Fintech student was a tremendous help in supporting us to drive our R&D activities. The student was a really motivated individual and delivered high quality project. The academic supervisor also took a hands-on approach that ensured the technical robustness and quality of the proposed methodologies.” – Manuel Peleteiro, Founder & CEO, Inbest
Recent Project Examples:
- Applications of Machine Learning to Regulatory Analytics: Basel Use Test (with Equifax)
- Fairness in Machine Learning (with Tesco Bank)
- Affordability-Driven Credit Decisioning (with Tesco Bank)
- Macroeconomic default modelling (with Virgin Money)
- Business Disruption Assessment of Climate Risks (with Climate X)
- Can change in environmental, social or governance scores be predicted using company characteristics? (with Franklin Templeton)
- ESG investing, impact investing and socially responsible investing – what’s the difference from a performance/return perspective? (with Substantive Research)
- A Market Index for Digital Currencies (with Predictiva)
Book to attend the event: https://eil.ac/FinTechProjects
Or e-mail Marina: marina.duka-jenkins@ei.ed.ac.uk
The MSc projects are delivered free of charge, as part of the students’ dissertations. However, companies can choose to remunerate the students for their time, if they wish.