Andrew Jenkins, Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland
Andrew Jenkins, the newly appointed Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland was among a delegation from the Fintech NI Working Group which attended the inaugural meeting of the Fintech National Network Symposium, in Glasgow. This included Karen Bradbury, Fintech Lead Invest NI, Alex Lee, co-founder FinTechNI and Philip Creed, co-founder and Director FSCom.
The gathering, hosted by Fintech Scotland, brought together senior leaders from the various fintech bodies, the Financial Conduct Authority, Scottish Development International, the UK Department for International Trade, Innovate Finance, the UK Treasury and the FinTech Alliance. They were joined by top fintech entrepreneurs from across the UK.
Addressing the symposium, Andrew Jenkins focused on Northern Ireland’s value proposition as a centre for fintech activity and highlighted the importance of the technology clusters that support the fintech sector here.
Other key themes discussed included the need to nurture the skills for the future, promoting inclusion and diversity, driving innovation across the sector, the importance of cross-sector collaboration to support further fintech growth, and the potential for fintech to bring broader societal benefits.
The Fintech National Network comprises the regional fintech bodies across the UK. Established in 2019, it aims to foster collaboration between the fintech bodies and to provide valuable connections to amplify support for fintech enterprises.
The Fintech National Network will meet in Belfast next June.
Andrew Jenkins, Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland commented:
“This was my first opportunity to meet up with the regional envoys from across the UK and it was fantastic to see first-hand the partnership, innovation and connectivity already happening across the UK fintech sector. By understanding where our strengths lie – both individually and collectively - and playing to them, I believe we can achieve even more.”
“The symposium also underlined the importance of inclusion and diversity across the fintech sector and this is something which I am passionate about. Promoting diversity is critical to further developing and growing the industry.”
“Northern Ireland is already a centre of excellence for fintech and the outlook is hugely exciting. As we look to the future, we must continue to articulate the broader economic and societal benefits that fintech can bring. In working with a range of stakeholder groups across Northern Ireland, our strategy will look to harness our incredible potential and continue to build out our areas of expertise.”