Afiniation set to play a key role supporting the sector
The Australasian economy is set to miss out on the benefits of the booming FinTech sector if greater ties are not created between investors and start-ups.
Financial services technology is growing rapidly with global FinTech financing activity predicted to more than double to $US6-8 billion by 2018, according to KPMG. However, Australian venture capital funding totals just 0.02 per cent of GDP, according to 2013 OECD data, while New Zealand has similarly low levels of support.
“With the end of the mining boom, we must foster more home-grown innovation and help FinTech start-ups commercialise their ideas because we can’t just keep digging stuff out of the ground,” says industry consultant Ian Dunbar.
“We will become a buyer of services from overseas if all the innovation is occurring in the US and the UK – and all of those profits, and jobs, will stay overseas.”
Digital disruption could strip $27 billion (or just under one-third) of total revenue from Australia’s banks, according to Macquarie Research report. However, it is not just a threat – but an opportunity.
Local success stories such as wealth management firm Bravura Solutions, foreign exchange provider OzForex, and New Zealand cloud-based accounting software firm Xero remain the exception but prove that our region has the talent to compete on a global stage.
“If you believe there are big changes occurring in the global economy we have to want to have some of the winners,” Dunbar says. “Startups have the potential to create wealth, employment and bring income back to our region and drive further innovation and creativity.”
Fostering growth in the sector is a key driver behind the launch of Afiniation, which will become a central online FinTech network bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs and investors.
Afiniation will showcase the best FinTech digital disruptors with regular content, webinars and online events, which will culminate in a one-day event showcasing the best FinTech innovators in Australia, held at The Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on September 24. Membership for FinTech start-ups will be free.
“It’s about exposure, connectivity and bringing people together,” says Dunbar, who has launched the organisation with technology specialist Marc Evans, marketer Per Edwards and event organiser Jillian Upton.
“The FinTech sector is growing rapidly across the globe and we need to ensure that Sydney and NSW plays a leading role in innovative business models. I support the aim of Afiniation to help the Australian FinTech industry work together to achieve this.” The Hon Victor Dominello MP, Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation.
Early supporters of Afiniation include Sydney-based technology company Industrie IT (operator of The Grid™) and new FinTech investor H2 Ventures, which was recently launched by Ben and Toby Heap.
“Initiatives such as Afiniation are a crucial part of the development of the FinTech community across Australia and the region, and will provide much needed exposure for early stage companies seeking to innovate in the financial services sector,” H2 chair Ben Heap says.