• Roberto Napolitano, Director of Marketing and Communications at Innovate Finance


• 05.04.2024 01:14 pm

1. Can you highlight some of the key themes and topics that will be covered at this year’s IFGS, and how they reflect the current trends in the fintech industry? 

The Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) returns on the 15th and 16th of April to the historic Guildhall, right in the heart of the City of London. 

This year we celebrate our 10th Summit and we are delighted to welcome industry leaders, investors and policy makers to discuss some of the crucial issues and opportunities for the sector. 

This year’s agenda looks at what the next decade of financial services looks like in the UK and across the globe, how the ecosystem is having a positive impact on other industries, how new technologies such as AI are transforming business models and customer experiences, how the next generation of consumers are engaging with FinTech products and who the future leaders of this every evolving space will be.

Over 200 international speakers and 2,000 delegates will be in attendance. Speakers include CEOs of innovative companies like Zilch, Revolut, Clearbank, Monzo, ClearScore, Curve, The London Stock Exchange, GoHenry, Zopa, Robinhood, TrueLayer and Thought Machine, just to mention a few. Attendees include international delegations from the Asia-Pacific and the North American regions, global investors, policy makers and government officials, national and international regulators and representatives from global consulting firms. 

2. How does IFGS facilitate collaboration between startups, established financial institutions, and regulators within the fintech ecosystem?

IFGS is the place where FinTechs - from startups to high growth companies - investors and regulators will convene for two-days during the UK FinTech Week. This is the perfect environment to start new connections and ignite conversations on industry collaboration and pave the way for economic growth.

An example of this is the Pitch360 competition that will see 10 cutting-edge FinTechs pitching their solutions to the audience and an esteemed panel of judges. The finalists this year are CloudFO, Cogo, Credit Canary, Engage Smarter, Finexos, Kestrl, mmob, Sikoia, Velexa and Verifoxx.

Another example of collaboration are the various policy-focused roundtables where industry leaders and policy makers will have the opportunity to connect in person and discuss important changes needed in the regulatory and policy frameworks.

3. In your view, what are the most significant challenges and opportunities facing the fintech sector today, and how is IFGS addressing these in its agenda?

The UK is celebrated as a global leader in FinTech and financial innovation, receiving more investment than all European countries combined. 8 out of every 10 adults in the UK are currently using at least one FinTech tool on a regular basis and nearly 60% of all SME lending across the UK is being done by FinTechs and alternative lenders. However, other countries are catching up, so we must not take our leadership for granted. 

As we look ahead to the future we must ask what more we can do as industry, and what we need from our regulators and governments to drive an even greater positive impact.

Some of the opportunities and challenges include the impact that transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing are having in the sector, how we keep attracting and growing investment in FinTech, what more can we do to boost diversity and inclusion and drive more transparency, efficiency and cost effectiveness in financial services to benefit both consumers and businesses.

4. Can you provide some examples of partnerships that originate from IFGS, highlighting the event’s role in fostering innovation and collaboration in the fintech space?

One of the examples of great collaboration at the Summit, among others, is The Tech Tunnel, an interactive demo area for delegates to immerse themselves in the latest innovative technologies from 10 Tech Tunnellers. 

This year we are delighted to have once again “Fintechs on the Rise by Rise - created by Barclays - a great opportunity to originate partnerships with institutions and investors.

The Summit is also the place where policy makers and FinTech leaders make important announcements. Last year, for example, the CEO of Coinbase shared important updates about the business  and this year we expect exciting news to be shared with our audience and media in attendance including The FT, Bloomberg, CNBC, Politico and many media partners such as BBC StoryWorks, ITN, CityAM, Finextra, Financial IT, FinTech Times, FinTech Futures, The Paypers, just to mention a few. 

Sponsors and exhibitors are also playing an important role at IFGS in facilitating networking opportunities and fostering collaboration within the ecosystem. 

We are very happy to welcome Financial IT as one of our media partners this year and provide its community with a 20% ticket discount with the code FINITIFGS2024. 

More information on the Summit, including the agenda, the speakers, sponsors and tickets can be viewed on our dedicated page at innovatefinance.com/ifgs2024.