The CEOs of the most prominent Italian and international fintech companies and unicorns, traditional financial players and authorities will gather to explore current and future fintech trends and evolutions in the financial sector. The Milan Fintech Summit, at its third edition - and its first in-person event since the onset of Covid-19 - will take place at Melià Hotel in Milan from the 5^th to the 7^th of October 2022.

The event, a benchmark for the sector on an international level, is promoted and organised by the Fintech District - the international community of reference for the fintech ecosystem in Italy - and by Business International - Fiera Milano together with FTS Group, with the support of the municipality of Milan via Milano&Partners. Its aim is to strengthen Milan's role as the capital of innovation in the European fintech world and to enhance the Italian fintech ecosystem on an international level, attract investment and talent, and create business-networking opportunities.

Alessandro Hatami, Managing Partner of Pacemakers.io and author of ‘Reinventing Banking and Finance’, is once again confirmed as Conference Chair of the event. Among the 90 participants comprised of distinguished international fintech leaders are Erik Podzuweit, Founder and Co-CEO di Scalable Capital, Alexander Prot, Co-Founder and CEO of Qonto, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, Deputy CEO of Bitpanda, and Riccardo Trubiani, Chief of Staff of Italian unicorn Scalapay. Among the other participants are Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Matthias Kroener, Carlo Gualandri, CEO of Soldo, Giuseppe Vegas Chairman of Arisk and former Consob President, Paolo Zaccardi Co-founder and CEO OF Fabrick, Clément Mauguet Co-Founder of Agicap, and Sergio Zocchi CEO of October Italia and President of ItaliaFintech.

The Summit will also benefit from the presence – with a video - of Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner of TLcom Capital, a venture capital firm specialised in investments in technology companies in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Brett King, best-selling author and host of ‘Breaking Banks’, the first globally recognized fintech podcast, who will be video-interviewed live on the second day of the event. Omobola Johnson was also Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria from 2011 to 2015, when the percentage of people online in Nigeria almost doubled. 

For the first time, this year there will be three important initiatives: a pitch session for fintech firms with Italian and international investors, a face-to-face time with authorities who will answer questions from the audience, and the exhibition area for event partners to present solutions and schedule meetings and demonstrations.

FINTECH CONFIRMS GLOBAL BENCHMARK

The rise of the Fintech industry is accelerating, with global revenues of USD 143 billion and investments of USD 121.5 billion in 2021. An unprecedented expansion was driven by the personal finance and digital payments segments, for which a further 14% growth is expected by 2025. Italy with investment rounds of millions is the leading foremost country in terms of the amount collected, as evidenced by analysis from Cross Border Growth Capital, according to which, since the beginning of 2022, six sizeable funding rounds have already been made in Italy, including those of Scalapay (188.1 million) and Moneyfarm (53 million). 

Italian fintech is experiencing a boom period with boosted growth. The ecosystem of companies is growing steadily, and banks and other players in the financial system have developed new digital channels and services by increasingly leveraging collaboration; Italian consumers and SMEs are showing a greater propensity towards digital and the most innovative financial services every year.

The introduction of PSD2, the new European directive on payment services, has also shuffled the cards, expanding opportunities for start-ups and fintech operators, in an ever more Open Finance based approach.

Milan Fintech Summit aims to promote the Italian fintech ecosystem at an international level and facilitate the entry of international firms and players into the Italian market. The validity and effectiveness of the initiative are demonstrated by the number of fintech companies attracted to the Soft-Landing programme. It’s a programme implemented on the sidelines by the Fintech District and Milano&Partners, which opens the doors of the community to foreign firms not yet operating in Italy, to ease access through the creation of relationships, visibility and structured action plans. Since the last edition of the Summit, Fintech District and Milano&Partners have been in touch with 73 international companies, including 13 unicorns, of which 11 have already become operational in Italy to be joined by a further five in the near future.

Clelia Tosi, Head of Fintech District, commented: "With more than 400 fintechs and an increasing number of scale-ups, the Italian ecosystem is mature and ready to express its potential. Positive signs are coming from the investors since more than 50 per cent of investments come from international VC funds. However, Italy remains lagging behind other European countries: to keep up with international competitors, it is necessary to work as a system and facilitate dialogue among all stakeholders. The Milan Fintech Summit’s specific aim is to achieve this."

Carlo Antonelli, Director of Business International, added: "Creating a culture of financial innovation is not only a great opportunity for Italy, but it is above all a necessity that must not be ignored. In fact, equipping new generations of talent with essential technological and sustainable skills is the only way to find concrete and flexible solutions to the challenges of our globalised world. In this context, thanks to this event, the city of Milan became the epicentre of Italian innovation, promoting the creation of new tech solutions and fostering cooperation among fintech companies.”