FinovateSpring heads to a new venue for 2018, right in the heart of California's fintech hub. Join 1,400+ attendees in Silicon Valley for a new, expanded event on May 8-11. With Finovate’s signature seven-minute demos on the first two days, followed by two days of expert-led keynotes, panelists, interviews, themed tracks and more, it’s the best way to stay up to date on the future of fintech.
More than 40 percent of African entrepreneurs cite access to finance as the major factor limiting their growth, according to World Bank Enterprise Surveys. In this article, the author says that West African start-ups and innovative young SMEs are indeed facing the classic ‘valley of death’ — the space between where the entrepreneur’s own resources from family and friends (“love money”) gets depleted and when the company is financially viable enough to attract later-stage investment and financing available on the market.
The FinTechStage Festival 2018 will explore the themes of Fintech, Regtech, Insurtech, AI, in a week long roadshow across Rome, Milan and Turin, Italy. As always, our mission is to help nurture new Innovation Tribes by bringing together the international and local expertise of investors, startups, consultants and financial institutions.
Mastercard jointly announced with Governor Andrew Cuomo that it will add to its New York state operations with the expansion of its New York City Technology Hub. The company will relocate its current tech hub operations to a new Flatiron location at 150 Fifth Avenue and nearly triple its work force through the creation of over 470 new jobs by 2024. The Mastercard technology hub, located in the Flatiron district, is home to members of the company's digital product, operations technology, Masterpass, and research & development teams.
This European Investment Fund (EIF) analysis provides an overview of the main markets relevant to EIF, equity, guarantees, securitization, and microfinance. These main markets have been identified by the European Small Business Finance Outlook (ESBFO). Starting with a discussion of the general market environment for SME finance, analysts then look at the main aspects of equity finance and the SME guarantees / securitization markets. Finally, the paper highlights important aspects of microfinance in Europe.
Tide, a digital-only banking app aimed at small businesses, has partnered with online lender iwoca, in a move to allow small companies access to loans of up to £100,000. Led by specialist fintech investor Anthemis, along with Passion Capital, LocalGlobe and Creandum, the company that backed Spotify, the startup raised $14 million. This is one of the largest Series A funding rounds closed by a fintech company this year.
An exclusive opportunity for members, the SME Finance Forum’s study visits are an integral part of our peer learning opportunities. Whether members are looking to expand their SME lending, in the nascent stage of their SME lending, or just thinking about starting SME lending, the study visits offer the opportunity to learn best practices from highly respected peers.
The 8th annual M2Banking and Fintech Latam Conference will make innovations in banking and the latest fintech developments forefront. From July 18-20, Silicon Valley will be the host location for the second year. Trends attractive to major investment funding will be available to startups and developers who will present products and services to companies.
This report was created with the aim to inform entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, large corporations and the general public about the opportunities and challenges for fintech startups in MENA.IN particular this report tries to answer the following questions:
There has been a lot of discussion around the topic of SMEs and job creation. While SMEs can foster innovation, help diversify an economy, spread economic activity beyond the main urban hubs, give opportunities to women and youth and much more, their role in creating jobs – in the current economic environment – is key.
