Mention fintech in Scotland and most people talk about what's
going on in Edinburgh - but Glasgow's producing a wealth of
talented young companies which are part of a growing fintech scene
in the west.
Take Encompass Corporation, for example. Founded in Sydney,
Australia, the business chose Glasgow for its UK base; its
operations VP Alex Ford even leaving the sunny climes of her native
land for Glasgow's, er, slightly less consistent sunshine.
There are plenty of other examples where tech and finance
entrepreneurs based in Glasgow have spotted the opportunity to
address some of the financial services sector's most pressing
questions around payments, fraud and security.
While the sector is best-known for producing start-ups, it's
also being adopted by established FS institutions keen to harness
the disruptive potential of digital tech in a world where change is
constant and rapid.
Initiatives like Code Clan, with its digital skills academy at
the Tontine in Glasgow, combine with organisations like Scottish
Financial Enterprise and others, to play a key role in creating a
reputation for Scotland as a fintech centre for the UK. The
Scottish Government has also made it an economic priority - a good
move when tech is such an essential part of our lives and when we
live in an economy based around strong financial services.
In Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde is taking a leading
part in developing the sector in Scotland as a whole. During the
summer, it ran the excellent 'Future of Fintech II' event, which
produced some very thought-provoking discussion around how Glasgow
can contribute to Scotland's growing presence as a global fintech
hub.
It's this sort of momentum which encourages confidence and
investment. Scotland's fintech ecosystem is attracting substantial
support from across the public and private sectors, turning a
nascent industry into a serious economic force.
We recently launched our own initiative to support the sector, a
UK-wide search for the brightest fintech stars of the future. AG
Elevate provides legal mentoring and support to fintechs we think
have what it takes to grow a scalable, sustainable business. It's
our second year of the initiative, but our first year in Scotland,
since Addleshaw Goddard itself is still only six months old
here.
There are two programmes - one targeting 'early-stage' start-ups
with no more than £1 million of investment, and one directed at
start-ups with at least 'Series A' funding of more than £1 million.
Both packages offer mentoring services and free legal advice,
together with access to AG's training sessions and networking
events.
One of last year's cohort, Cardiff-based Delio, helps a wide
range of organisations connect ultra and high net worth and family
office capital with private investment opportunities to enhance
their offering. Delio does this through a series of interlinked
white labelled digital platforms and launched its initial version
of the solution in May 2016.
We know Scotland has more than its fair share of talented
fintechs, and at a time where economic data doesn't always make for
particularly encouraging reading, there's comfort in the
exceptions. We're lucky as a country in that we have a number of
exceptions - look at the ongoing success of the food and drink
sector, for example.
Economic success, like commercial success, is all about backing
winners. It's clear that fintech has more than a fighting chance of
being a real success story for Glasgow and Scotland; even more
impressive in the context of several UK cities finding their
swagger in emerging tech. Birmingham's tech community, for example,
has created its own promotional body, Silicon Canal, to show the
city's selling points to investors and multinationals.
Glasgow is already demonstrating its mettle in one of the most
exciting economic prospects currently in front of Scotland and, for
my money, we've come out of the blocks ahead of most other parts of
the UK. And if we've come this far already, just think what else we
could achieve in future.
Applications for the AG Elevate competition close on
the 15th of December 2017. Visit the AG Elevate website for more
information and enjoy all the latest news, events and blogs from
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