Rudolf Falat's Blog, page 2
April 29, 2022
April roundup
Photo by Henrique Ferreira on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the April episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is your monthly roundup! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Programmable money with Shamir Karkal, co-founder and CEO of Sila
Shamir Karkal, co-founder and CEO of Sila, a US-headquartered FinTech software platform spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about ways how to program your money to do what you want with it.
Specifically, here is what they covered:
Shamir's background and journey to Sila
Why are we only in the early stages of FinTech, and what it's exciting about the future?
Sila seeks to provide the next generation of financial services – why and how?
What is programmable money?
What's your unfair competitive advantage?
What's the technology behind your solution?
How do you make money?
What will Web3 mean in terms of financial services, and how blockchain and crypto integrate into it?
How big is your team, and where are you based?
Shamir's favorite business book: Debt: The First 5000 Years
What's the best way to reach out: Sila Money
Nuances of Marketing in Financial Services with Alexandra Levis, President of Arro Financial Communications
In this podcast episode, Alexandra Levis, President of Arro Financial Communications, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about the unique nuances and challenges of Marketing in Financial Services.
Here is what they covered:
Alex's background and journey to Marketing in Financial Services
Challenges Alex had to face running a company that's at the intersection of marketing and traditional finance
Best marketing tools to focus on? Digital marketing, SEO, PR?
Does one still need a website to promote their business?
Key clients - large companies vs. FinTechs; how do they differ?
How can FinTechs create a robust marketing plan on a budget? Should FinTechs try to build a B2C brand, or are they better off going through the B2B route?
Many entrepreneurs would love to build another platform. How do you overcome a cold start problem, though?
The most significant changes in financial marketing over the last few years?
Recommended for to aspiring FinTech entrepreneurs, related to Marketing: Hegarty on Advertising
Best way to reach out: alevis@arrocomm.com
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: Disrupting the archaic payments system with Astra CEO Gil Akos
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch speaks to Gil Akos, CEO of Astra, about disrupting and upgrading the archaic payments system in America.
Here is what they covered:
Background:
Gil’s background and what led him to found Astra
What do you see driving the recent boom of the financial transfer market? How has Astra grown as a company in conjunction with this boom?
Who are some of Astra’s customers?
What types of companies can benefit from Astra’s technology?
How does Astra differentiate itself from others in the crowded fintech space?
The current state of the payments system:
What are the current issues you see with the payment system and what can be done to solve these challenges? Specifically, how does Astra solve these challenges?
How do you expect the payments space to change over the next couple of years?
How do you see real-time payments (RTP) affecting the ACH network and the payments system as a whole?
How can banks and financial institutions effectively and safely handle ACH transfers?
Account-to-account and instant transfers:
How does Astra enable account-to-account (A2A) transfers? How are you able to simplify A2A transfers for both developers and consumers?
Why have A2A transfers historically been difficult for banks and financial institutions to execute effectively?
What is Astra’s role in the instant payment space?
Bridging the gap between fiat money and cryptocurrency:
What are the inherent challenges for all Web3 infrastructure?
What steps need to be taken in order to bridge the gap between these two dramatically opposed ecosystems?
How does Astra handle risk mitigation within fiat-crypto transactions to help prevent fraud losses?
How will the rapid growth of crypto/DeFi/Web3 impact the evolution of the payments systems?
Follow Astra on LinkedIn, Twitter, and visit their website for more information.
Autonomous drones & insurance with Margarita Chli, Head of the Vision for Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
In this episode, Margarita Chli, Swiss National Science Professor in Computer Vision for Robotics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about improving drone vision and building autonomous drones and their use cases in Insurance.
Specifically, here is what they covered:
How did Margarita become a professor at ETH in Zurich in drones and robots' vision? See Margarita's profile at ETH website.
Many people talk about self-driving cars, but less attention is paid to autonomous drones. What are the use cases for intelligent drones that can fly by themselves, and what are their challenges vs. self-driving cars?
The critical focus of Margarita's research is improving the vision of drones and robots. So what technology are we talking about? How does it compare to mainstream hobby drones like DJI?
Many people are concerned with safety and privacy when it comes to drones. Yet, Margarita is helping drones to see even better! So, how would Margarita alleviate these concerns?
Insurance companies in many countries have already eliminated many claims adjustor roles – they use humans to survey the damage, but data is sent to HQ for assessment and processing. With autonomous drones, can these roles be replaced too? For example, the staff in HQ can use drones for a survey and then use the pictures or videos for the assessment?
What are the differences between using drones for surveying damage indoors (say, a building near collapse) and a substantial flooded area? Do you need a different drone size? Undoubtedly, but what about its navigation abilities?
What about urban use (e.g., for assessing car accidents) – would you be comfortable using autonomous drones there
How does one deal with challenges like battery life or accidents when the drone works independently?
Further resources: Margarita's TEDx Talk on Computer Vision. You can also subscribe to the Vision for Robotics Youtube channel.
The best way to reach out - e-mail: chlim@ethz.ch
Metaverse opportunities for FinTech with Marc Hauser, Head of F10 Switzerland & Stefan Kaemper, Chairman of Cowlevel
Marc Hauser, Head F10 Incubator and Accelerator Europe and Stefan Kaemper, co-founder of Cow Level, a FinTech for gaming company spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about latest push by F10 into gaming and metaverse and Cow Level's efforts to build a marketplace for gaming assets.
Here is what they covered:
Marc's motivation to change ships from a large incumbent to an ecosystem hub
Current key FinTech verticals F10 wants to focus on
Stefan's background and entrepreneurial journey that led to co-founding of Cow Level
F10 recently announced a concentrated push to metaverse and gaming. Marc explains why it is relevant for a FinTech hub
Key opportunities for FinTech to cross over with the world of gaming and eSports?
What’s the difference between gaming and eSports
Cow Level key services: The first project brought to life and are committed to is the First international Play Money Exchange (FiPME). FiPME produces marketplace software for virtual goods, similar to Nasdaq – an Exchange for stocks.
The technology behind their solution
The target addressable market and business model of Cow Level
Cow Level’s endgame plan and how can F10 help companies like Cow Level
Recommended games: Chain, Out Run, Axie Infinity, Farming Simulator
What’s the best way to reach out: marc.hauser@f10.global and sk@cowlevel.ch or LinkedIn
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: They hack your phone. They hack your life. Here's how to stop them
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch speaks to Haseeb Awan, Founder & CEO of Efani Secure Mobile about how to fight SIM-related fraud and protect your hard-earned money.
Here is what they covered:
Efani story: from family to friends to finance community - crypto and fiat
What is a SIM swap and why should crypto investors, high profile and high net worth individuals and organizations care about this?
What are other methods for hacking?
Why is the current solution not working?
What can investors and other high profile and high net worth individuals and organizations do to increase their security?
How is Efani doing it differently and better?
Conclusion: Protect your assets, crypto and intellectual property by going to Efani.com and subscribing to receive secure mobile services.
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSS
March 31, 2022
March summary!
Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the March episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Building solutions for DeFi traders and doing private deals in a modern age
Antoine Loth and Elie Azzi, co-founders of Valk, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about scaling up their platform for private deals during the pandemic (several billion USD in volume!) and building new DeFi solutions for another exponential growth opportunity.
Here is what they talked about:
Antoine, Elie – what are your backgrounds?
The problems that Valk is solving
More details on a recently launched full suite of DeFi solutions
What protocols are you integrated with today and what are the next steps?
How is your DeFi solution linked to your original VDeal solution focused on private markets and tokenization?
Target clients
How big is the opportunity that Valk is tackling
Valk has grown tremendously in the past year. Antoine's advice to other founders on how to grow and scale platforms quickly
Geographical coverage and international ambitions
Any good book on DeFi?
What's the best way to reach out
Financial services for migrants with Rewire's CEO and co-founder, Guy Kashtan
Guy Kashtan, CEO and co-founder of Rewire, headquartered in Israel, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about innovative ways his company uses to provide financial services to migrants, including refugees all across the EU, UK and Israel.
Here is what they talked about:
Guy's background, what led him to co-found Rewire
Rewire’s mission to provide transparent and effortless financial services to migrants
What type of migrants do you have in mind? Which countries? What about refugees?
Rewire's financial services for migrants: basic bank account even without an address, ability to send money home cheaply and easily and more
Rewire recently secured USD 25 million from Migdal Insurance to add insurance products to their portfolio - at the host country and for family back at home
Size of the opportunity Guy and his team are tackling
Technology angle behind their solution
Business model
Size of the team and where in the world are Rewire's employees and clients based
Guy's favorite business book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers (again on this podcast!)
The best way to reach out
Making BNPL smarter and more impactful with Brian Shniderman, US CEO and Global Chief Strategy Officer at Openpay (Opy)
Brian Shniderman, US CEO and Global Chief Strategy Officer at Openpay (Opy), spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about building the next generation of BNPL, smart BNPL!
Here is what they covered:
Brian's background and his journey to Opy
What's Opy's mission? What's the problem that Opy is solving?
Level setting: how does BNPL work? How do you assess credit risk?
What does Opy provide? Financing for larger purchases, e.g. healthcare / dental purchases, auto repairs, education
How do you differ from other BNPL solutions out there? Carefully selected industry verticals, strategic partnerships with the vendors and financing facility of USD 270m+ from Goldman Sachs
BNPL has been growing tremendously in some markets, but it's unavailable in some. Where does Brian see the most significant potential
What's the technology behind Opy's solution
Business model
From Australia to the US, UK and New Zealand - key markets and ambitions
Recommended book: A CEO Only Does Three Things: Finding Your Focus in the C-Suite
The best way to reach out: Brian Shniderman (Linkedin) or e-mail: bshniderman@opy.com
Voice of FinTech Africa Series with Patrick Awori: African VC perspectives with Lavanya Anand, Principal of VestedWorld
Start-up funding in Africa is growing tremendously, from less than USD $2 billion reported in 2019, to well over USD $4 billion in 2021 (USD $1 million raised every two hours), and over $1 billion in the first two months of 2022 alone according to Briter Bridges. While this is an encouraging trend from a market capitalization standpoint, the fact that the bulk of these inflows are targeted at the FinTech sector alone (over 70%), and raised mostly by foreign-registered start-ups or those whose Founders or CEOs studied abroad raises questions about this capital’s effectiveness in realizing the long-term economic and social impact. This episode investigates these trends from the starting point. We interview Lavanya Anand, Principal at Vested World, a leading early-stage VC with a diversified portfolio covering East and West Africa.
Among other topics, we discuss the kinds of opportunities that VestedWorld is interested in, their various sources of deal-flow, and their expectations of the companies they invest in.
Lavanya argues that while FinTech is an important enabler of the African economy, there is also a need to invest in other areas like logistics, food security, education in order to create jobs and make everything else work. We also explore the critical role of local capital in driving growth in the African ecosystem, especially in the early stages.
Finally, we conclude our conversation with some insights from her experience in investing, and why for the bold and daring, Africa is the future.
Play to earn and give back to the community with Brendan Wong, CEO and co-founder of Avocado Guild
Creative solutions to drive gamers' engagement through play to earn and give back to the community are emerging at the cross-over of the metaverse, FinTech, and gaming. Listen to Brendan Wong, CEO and co-founder of Avocado Guild based in Singapore, which enables players to participate in games like Axie Infinity or Cyball to earn money and support their community, the largest one now in the Philippines speaking to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how it all works.
Brendan's background - how he got to what he does today
Avocado Guild: a community, building and shaping the future of GameFi via onboarding and educating new Web3 users.
What does it mean, pay to play?
How does Avocado Guild work? Financing players so they can buy digital Axies within Axie Infinity (for example) and start playing to earn
Bridging metaverse and real-world - how is Avocado Guild building community outside of games
When one wants to start a network, or a community, you face a cold start problem. How did Avocado start?
Avocado Guild just raised USD 18 million - how big are its growth ambitions?
What’s the technology behind Avocado Guild
How does guild make money?
How big is your team, and where are you based? Hint: geographical focus now and the ambition to scale up
Brendan's favorite game at the moment: Cyball, CyBall is a football-themed, NFT-based blockchain game with a play-to-earn model that allows you to test your might against players from around the world
What’s the best way to reach out: @BrendinoAG (Telegram) or e-mail: brendan@avocadoguild.com
Asia Pacific Series with Taneia Bhardwaj: Digitizing home loans with Atul Monga, co-founder & CEO of BASIC Home Loan
In this episode of Voice of Fintech, we spotlight the revolution that is underway in India's most significant asset class - property or real estate. Our guest today is Atul Monga, Co-Founder & CEO of BASIC Home Loan. This FinTech company is working to digitize home loans, especially for middle and low-income households in India.
Here is what Taneia Bhardwaj, our APAC Series host, based in Mumbai, asked Atul:
You are a mechanical engineer by training who has spent a fair bit of time in investment banking. What led you to start your own business, that too, during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020?
Talk to us a bit of the business you have built - BASIC home loan - as someone who has taken a home loan herself - what's shocking and frustrating in equal measure is the complete lack of digitization in the entire process -there's never-ending paperwork, complicated math, and stress! So how are you solving this? How are you delighting customers? Reinventing the process?
What are some of India's trends that support and drive protection - on the search, supervise, and sell-side?
How did you nail your go-to-market strategy? How did you validate your value proposition and ensure that you were developing a product that people wanted instead of creating something based on your intuition?
Is winning clients a lengthy process because real estate is traditionally a conservative brick-and-mortar business in more ways than one?
Scale-up plans?
When will we see the one-click mortgage, the embedded finance component of PropTech, take off in India?
Building a successful neobank in the US with Scott Sanborn, CEO of Lending Club
Scott Sanborn, CEO of Lending Club, a listed US FinTech unicorn, FinTech's Executive of the Year, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about building a successful neobank in the US.
More specifically, they covered:
Scott's journey from marketing to FinTech
What's right and wrong with traditional banking, and how can a neobank like Lending Club fix it
How does Lending Club help its clients to stay or become financially healthy?
How Lending Club works
Thoughts on the rise of BNPL
Business model
Technology angle
Key clients
How did LendingClub cope with the pandemic?
You are Lendit's Executive of the Year – how do you feel about it?
Additional recommended resources for entrepreneurs: How I built this (podcast) and Antifragile
The best way to reach out: sanborn@lendingclub.com
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSFebruary 24, 2022
February summary
St. Moritz, Switzerland
In case you missed out on the February episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Making financial data affordable for FinTechs building innovative products for the Capital Markets with Rachel Carpenter, CEO of Intrinio
Rachel Carpenter, founder, and CEO of Intrinio, based in St. Peterburg, Florida, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about providing affordable and high-quality financial data for FinTechs building new products and business in the Capital Markets FinTech space.
Specifically, here is what they covered:
Rachel's background and why she has become interested in financial data
What are the most remarkable innovations you have seen in Financial Data Management during your career, and where is the highest potential for FinTechs to improve this area of Finance?
What's Intrinio's mission? What's the problem Intrinio is solving?
What sort of data are we talking about? Also, what does it mean, financial supply chain?
How is Intrinio different from financial data providers like Bloomberg or exchanges?
Target clients: FinTechs in the Capital Markets space
How big is the opportunity Intrinio is tackling
What's the technology behind their solution
How Intrinio ensures data quality leveraging AI / Machine Learning
Where is Intrinio's team based and approach to hiring talent
What's your favorite business book?
The best way to reach out and find out more about Intrinio and Rachel
Streamlining signatory management with Delega's CEO, Riccardo Balsamo
Riccardo Balsamo, CEO of Delega, a Swiss-based RegTech, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about the pain points between banks and corporates when it comes to figuring out who is authorized to sign a contract on behalf of the counterparty and make a payment.
Here is what they covered:
Why is Riccardo a Treasury enthusiast?
What's Delega's mission - the problem it is solving
How does Delega differ from DocuSign or Adobe contract management solutions?
Target clients
The size of the opportunity
The technology behind Delega's solution
Preventing fraud with Delega's solution
The most remarkable innovations in Treasury during Riccardo's career, and where is the highest potential for FinTechs to improve this area of Finance
Size of the team and international reach
What is the best way to reach out (and what kind of parties would be most relevant for you)?
Exciting (and explainable) AI for Modern FinTech with Nvidia's Pahal Patangia, co-hosted with Emeritus live
In this live event, co-hosted and supported by Emeritus, leading global EdTech, making world-class education accessible globally, represented by Marie Mize, Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, spoke live to Pahal Patangia, Head of Developer Relations, FinTech at Nvidia about the latest trends in leveraging AI in FinTech, explainable AI, metaverse and FinTech and Nvidia's activities, products, and services supporting FinTechs.
Here is what they discussed (transcript is also available where supported by your podcast app):
Pahal's background
Pahal's role at Nvidia
AI is crucial for the development of FinTech. So what's the role of Nvidia in leveraging AI in Financial Services – from hardware to software, and what's the strategic rationale of Nvidia's involvement in this space?
Many start-ups perhaps overuse the term AI when describing the technology behind their ventures. Do you agree? What is AI and what is not when it comes to FinTech use cases?
What would be the most promising use cases for AI in FinTech?
We've had AI winters in the past – would you say we are past potential AI winters and why?
AI is sometimes the subject of fierce debate regarding ethics and governance, and sometimes the models' results are below expectations. So what can go wrong with AI?
Governance and regulatory framework are often behind technology improvements. What do you think is needed now when it comes to AI governance?
What is explainable AI? (XAI) Why do we need one?
Can you mention some examples where you have already worked on XAI implementation?
Given Nvidia's history, where do you see the most significant opportunities for FinTech expanding into metaverse or crossing over with gaming?
Is metaverse a fad, or is it here to stay? How does it correspond with the future of work?
What new products or services are you rolling out for FinTechs interested in deploying AI quickly and efficiently as well as expanding into metaverse?
Where do you see the future of AI? Augmented intelligence or general intelligence?
Best way to reach out
Sheila Kagan, CEO of PayKey, an Israeli Embedded Finance company, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about the promise of embedded finance and banking, and especially about why earned wages access is such a hot product right now across the globe!
Here is what they covered in more detail:
Sheila's background and how she got to do what she does today
PayKey's mission and the problem it is solving
PayKey's focus when it comes to Embedded Finance or Banking
What value Sheila sees in earned wage access solutions
How can banks respond to the emergence of FinTechs in the embedded banking space
How does PayKey distinguish itself from other Embedded Finance service providers
Target clients
Size of the opportunity
What's the technology behind PayKey'solution
Geographic coverage
What's the best way to reach out
Africa Series with Stacey Japhta: Akshay Grover, CEO of Cellulant - How funding rounds differ and investment advice for rookies
In this episode of Africa Series, Stacey Japhta, VP Growth at Talent in the cloud, Emerging Markets FinTech executive firm, sat down with Akshay Grover, CEO of Cellulant. Cellulant, a pan African payments platform, connects entrepreneurs and innovators across Africa through seamless digital commerce. Akshay discusses all things FinTech, how funding rounds differ from A-D and seed-investment advice for rookies.
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSJanuary 29, 2022
2022 - bring it on!
Flumserberg, Switzerland
In case you missed out on the January episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Getting board experience with Board Owl's Daniel Aghdami
Daniel Aghdami, the founder of Board Owl, talks about Board Owl matching senior executives to companies, especially start-ups and SMEs to form boards and advisory boards with an impact with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
Below are some insights shared that would interest you:
Daniel's backstory and entrepreneurial journey
Reasons behind why he started Board Owl back in March 2020
How Board Owl matches remarkable people with exceptional organizations for board positions to empower growth and make an impact as well as the current issues Board Owl is currently working on
Resources provided for first-time board members
Insights on what constitutes a good board member
Leveraging a powerful board, and individuals looking to share their expertise and develop through holding board positions help someone in their career.
Types of companies for boards that Board Owl focuses on
Differences of board members from these types of companies mentioned
Lessons learned from board members engagement to clients
The liability exposure for board members in Switzerland and insurance coverage
Milestones achieved since the company started that Daniel is proud of
Knowing the best way to reach out and find out more about Board Owl
Thank you Swiss Finance + Technology Association (SFTA) for making it happen!
Bringing crowdsourcing to the Gulf with OurCrowd Arabia's Partner, Sabah al-Binali
Sabah al-Binali, Partner of OurCrowd Arabia, shared his perspectives on the benefits of investing in start-ups alongside VC and the background on the first Israeli VC expanding to the Middle East with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
They also covered:
Sabah discussed his investing background and experience
Sabah explained how OurCrowd operates and how he joined forces with OurCrowd's founder and CEO, Jon Medved
Sabah and Rudolf further discussed the reasons for the company setting up an arm in ADGM
How much money OurCrowd raised, their geographic focus (Israel and abroad), and success stories
VC and crowdsourcing - unique appeal of OurCrowd
OurCrowd's approach to working with start-ups: operational help and advice in addition to money
Views on FinTech's growth in the Middle East and most promising verticals
What's the best way to reach out if you are interested to learn more about OurCrowd
Artificial Intelligence and fraud prevention with Netguardians' CTO, Jérôme Kehrli
Jérôme Kehrli, CTO at Netguardians spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast about leveraging AI in anti-fraud prevention and cybersecurity.
Here is what they talked about:
Jerome's backstory
Why has Jerome decided to join a start-up (or a scale-up) like Netguardians
When will we finally have truly intelligent AI working on fraud prevention in banking?
How good is anti-fraud AI today? What kind of AI are we talking about?
Who are Netguardians' target customers?
How do you make money?
Where are you on your journey in terms of product development, geographic reach, funding, hiring?
What are the next steps for you next year and beyond? Customers, incumbents as partners, investors?
Where can interested parties reach you?
Thank you the Swiss Finance + Technology Association (SFTA) for making it happen!
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch speaks to Toby Russell, co-CEO of Shift Technologies about disrupting the used car market!
Specifically, they cover:
In the digital era, convenience is key. Consumers want to browse, shop, and pay for items like coffee, clothes without friction. Toby discusses how Embedded FinTech allows customers to finance their cars, get prequalified for a loan, select and purchase an auto loan, and even buy vehicle protection plans and gap insurance without leaving their app. He'll also dive into how embedded fintech will transform industries and why more brands should take the Embedded FinTech approach.
One of the largest areas of the consumer sector is a haggle system that actively discriminates. Toby speaks about how incorporating ML and a financial stack into an eCommerce platform is standardizing industry pricing, allowing more people to access real-time crediting decisions, and how embedded payments open up auto purchases to more people.
As payments become more digital both online and offline, Embedded Finance will become a new business model for sellers. This will accelerate in a Web3 environment.
Conclusion:
As a retailer - evaluate your business model. As a finance company- evaluate your Tech. As a consumer - expect better.
PropTech meets FinTech with Lars Sommerer, MD of Swiss PropTech and Julien Schillewaert, CEO of PriceHubble
Lars Sommerer, Managing Director of the Swiss PropTech, and Julien Schillewaert, CEO of PriceHubble, spoke to Rudolf Falat, the Voice of FinTech podcast founder, about the Swiss PropTech scene and cross-over with FinTech.
Here is what they talked about:
Lars, what brought you from traditional real estate to PropTech?
What are the Swiss PropTech, its goals, and activities?
Swiss PropTech scene - overview, the most developed verticals
Julien, you are CEO at PriceHubble. How did you get to do what you do today?
What is PriceHubble and the problem you are solving?
Many people make only a handful of real estate investments in their lives. So what’s PriceHubble's competitive edge?
The most significant opportunities for growth within the real estate industry in Switzerland in the near future
How has the adoption of PropTech solutions changed during the pandemic? How receptive is Swiss real estate to PropTech vs. before the pandemic? Check out the annual Swiss PropTech study here.
The best way to reach out
Thank you, the Swiss Finance + Technology Association (SFTA), for making it happen!
David Yakobovitch, our New York-based host, teamed up with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, to discuss what's been shaking in the FinTech world and adjacent sectors in early 2022 live on Fishbowl. Here is the recording if you missed it!
David and Rudolf focused on these key topics:
• Gaming and FinTech: Microsoft's announced acquisition of Activision. Check also news coverage on the FT, Variety,
Microsoft. More broadly, check out these great reports on gaming and Fintech here, including the Goldman Sachs report on gaming and metaverse. See more on the consolidation in the gaming sector.
• X-AI or Explainable AI: What it is and why do we need an explainable approach to AI? See also Nvidia's article on the same here.
• Crypto crash: Why do crypto crashes happen? Check out this great explainer here. How does it impact Coinbase? Should you be worried?
• End of the InsurTech revolution? What happened to Lemonade and its fellow darlings of the InsurTech scene? What happened to InsurTech?
Have a great start to 2022! If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSDecember 29, 2021
2021 - signing off!
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the December episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Asia Pacific Series with Chia Jeng Yang 谢征阳: Building blocks of Embedded Finance in the Philippines with John Januszczak, President & CEO of UBX
In this episode of the Asia Pacific Series, we spoke to John Januszczak, President & CEO of UBX, a FinTech venture studio created by the Unionbank of the Philippines. UBX was initiated to positively impact financial inclusion and business growth through technology. Founded in 2018 by Union Bank of the Philippines, UBX operates in Singapore and the Philippines; recognized as the Fastest Growing Fintech Company in South East Asia 2020 by UK-based Global Brands Magazine and Best Digital Community Impact Initiative in South East Asia 2020 by Capital Finance International (CFI.co). Originally from Canada, his degree in Astrophysics and experience in telecom, commercial software, banking and insurance industries provides a unique and well-rounded perspective on digital platforms. Prior to UBX, John served as the Chief Operating Officer of Manulife Philippines.
We talked about:
UBX’s partnership with the Cardano Foundation
The opportunity for building the underlying financial pipes for the Embedded Finance economy
The opportunity for Venture Building in the Philippines
Understanding the Crypto opportunity in the Philippines
Building FinTech in the Philippines
Find the right FinTech for you with Yuval Tal, Managing Partner of Team8
Yuval Tal, Managing Partner of Team8 Fintech shared his tips on how to pick and do due diligence on a FinTech when you are considering joining one, especially if it means a major career change for you!
Inspiring advice that you can’t miss out:
How Tal became a godfather of Israeli Fintech
Team8 investment philosophy
Deal sourcing approach
How Team8 works with start-ups
How to choose the right FinTech for you when you are considering a career change, e.g. from a corporate
Hottest trends in FinTech that fascinate Yuval
Learn more about Team8 and how Yuval can be reached
Voice of FinTech Africa Series with Patrick Awori: Growing mobile payments across Africa with MFS Africa's Head of Growth, Daniel Maison
According to recent reports, the number of registered mobile money accounts globally in 2020 stood at 1.2 billion, powered by over 300 live mobile money services, processing $767 billion in global transaction value. The sector has registered an increase of 12% from the previous year, especially due to increased demand during the COVID 19 pandemic. It is a fact that over 55% (more than half) of mobile money services globally are based in Africa, which also registered the highest growth in new users added in 2020, at 43% of all new accounts created. This points to the expanding and trailblazing nature of Africa’s digital payments market.
In this episode, we analyze this explosive growth narrative through the story of Africa’s largest digital payments gateway, MFS Africa. They have been at the forefront of this, connecting over 320 million mobile wallets in over 30 African countries. Daniel Maison, the organization’s Head of Growth, discusses their strategy to maintain their edge in a quickly evolving market, specifically how they meet their customers’ unique payment needs right from an early stage. He also gives his take on why smart money is in Africa and highlights some of the pain points that remain to be solved. Finally, we conclude our discussion with some debate about the role that FinTech can play in driving sustainable social and economic growth, especially as the world grapples with the threats of climate change and widening economic disparities.
In parting, he poses a theoretical question, “What if every drop in the ocean saw itself as special and separate from every other drop?” and challenges us to do the best we can, with what we have, for the greater good.
FinTech and Corporate Finance with Miller Thomson's Partner Myron Mallia-Dare
Myron Mallia-Dare, a Partner - M&A, Venture Capital, Technology and Corporate Finance at Miller Thomson LLP, spoke with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech, about FinTech M&A, doing deals in North America, Canadian RegTech and cybersecurity.
Here is what they discussed in more detail:
Myron's back story: Technology, Finance and M&A
Miller Thomson's approach on advising FinTechs, what they focus on, if M&A or business transactions, or if they also advise only scale-ups or established companies
FinTech M&A specifics, as well as lessons learned
Funding alternatives for FinTechs nowadays
Future of FinTech M&A - FinTechs buying Fintechs, consolidation and incumbents acquiring innovative companies
Key differences identified between Canada and the US in Corporate Finance and VC investing
Current hottest Reg Techs on the Canadian scene
Legal framework catching up with the latest cybersecurity issues
Favorite Business Book or Documentary: Good to Great by Jim Collins (updated)
How to get in touch
Final FinTech 2021 success stories chat! A critical view by the hosts of Voice of FinTech, David Yakobovitch and Rudolf Falat - recording of our latest LIVE show on FISHBOWL
David Yakobovitch, our New York-based host, teamed up with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, to discuss worldwide FinTech stories of late 2021 and look at them through a critical lens! Topics included Nubank's IPO, N26's retreat from the US, Peloton's stock price drop due to a death of a fictional character on a TV show, Monzo's and Starling Bank's successes and challenges, Europe catching up with the US in VC funding, NFTs for Christmas and do we finally know who Satoshi Nakamoto is? This is the recording of their live show on Fishbowl.
Banking sustainably with Reto Ringger, CEO of Globalance Bank
Reto Ringger, the Founder & CEO of Globalance Bank, entrepreneur, financial leader, and innovator, had a chat with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech, about his passion for sustainability in financial markets.
Here are the details on what they have talked about:
First, Reto gave a brief introduction of himself and his professional background
Reasons behind creating Globalance bank and what problems it is trying to address
The uniqueness of Globalance vs. other banks despite everyone claiming sustainability as their priority
Key products that Globalance offers
Key themes in sustainability that Globalance focuses and believes in: climate change, new mobility or AgTech
Target clients of Globalance
How Globalance is funded and regulated
How Globalance makes money
Financial services transformation, identifying where they lag vs. other industries.
Journey of Globalance on product development, geographic reach, funding, and hiring.
How interested parties can contact Reto and Globalance Bank
Africa Series with Adejoke Adekunle: Building a digital bank in Africa with Odun Eweniyi, COO of PiggyVest
In this episode of the Africa Series, Joke Adekunle spoke to Odun Eweniyi, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Piggyvest - an online saving and investment platform founded in 2016 to help Nigerians achieve their financial goals. Today, the startup has over 3 million customers and has recently acquired companies like Abeg - popularly known as the Cashapp for Africa.
Joke and Odun discussed modern finance in West Africa and building a FinTech startup on the continent.
Here is what Joke asked Odun:
Tell us a bit more about PiggyVest story
You and your team launched PiggyVest at a time when digital banking wasn't well recognized or trusted. What were the learning curves you had to navigate at the time?
There's a lot of funding available today - especially for FinTech companies - how do you see that changing things in the African market?
What - in your opinion- are the most challenging parts of building a fintech company in Africa?
What lessons have you learned lately about building a fintech business in Nigeria?
As an investor in several African companies, I'd like you to share your perspective on the idea that "every tech company today is or can be a fintech company" - do you agree?
Still on the topic - PiggyVest acquired Abeg in 2020 - the startup popularly known as the Cashapp for Africa - what key factors led to that decision, and what are the opportunities for both companies with the acquisition?
As an investor in several African companies, I'd like you to share your perspective on the idea that "every tech company today is or can be a fintech company" - do you agree?
There's an emerging trend in the African fintech landscape of startups focused on the informal trade market; what are your thoughts on savings and investments for the informal market?
Given your experience, what trends do you see emerging in the African tech market that the world should pay attention to?
PiggyVest has some interesting projects in the pipeline, I believe. So what should our expectations be over the next few months?
Chasing unicorns in rural France & redefining amateur sports business with Dom Einhorn
Dom Einhorn, founder, and CEO of UNIQORN, the world's largest rural incubator-accelerator and CXSports, a platform that helps amateur sports teams monetize their content, shared his insights with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
Among the many exciting subjects Dom shared the following:
Dom's entrepreneurial journey from e-commerce to digital marketing (in the US and France) to helping others build businesses and helping amateur sports to improve their economics
How he was able to make these businesses a big success
Valuable advice to founders in France on fundraising, what to watch out for, and focusing on
Uniqorn, a start-up ecosystem in Sarlat, rural France, near Bordeaux
The key themes emerging from this year's edition on Startup Supercup, tech founders and investors matchmaking event
Dom's passion for sports business, especially given the underappreciated, amateur team sports like rugby in France
Explained how CXSports evening is the best playing field for amateur sports teams
How the platform makes money
Best way to reach and find out about Dom's entrepreneurial activities
Thank you for your support in 2021! If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSNovember 29, 2021
November gone!
Photo by DD Contact on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the November episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Venture Capital, Business Angels, and Start-ups with INSEAD Professor Henning Piezunka
Henning Piezunka, an Assistant Professor at INSEAD, shared with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, what led Henning to choose the academic path, his highly successful workshop Venture Capital, Business Angels, and Start-ups, and key learnings from it.
Among the many interesting points, they have highlighted the following:
How Henning got interested in academia and running a business
The original idea behind Henning's successful workshop "Venture Capital, Business Angels, and Start-ups"
What the workshop is about
How the workshop was scaled up
The major takeaways that entrepreneurs may take away from his webinar, including the main dos and don'ts of presenting to investors
Any difference in pitching between VCs and business angels?
Advice for aspiring business angels
Further recommended reading: Henning's research on competition and cooperation, Chiara Spina's research on experimentation in entrepreneurial firms, and the book Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model
Best way to reach out and people Henning would love to hear from
Africa Series with Stacey Japhta: Currency trading solutions for frontier markets with CEO and co-founder of AZA Finance, Elizabeth Rossiello
In this episode of the Africa Series, Stacey Japhta, VP Growth at TalentintheCloud, interviews Elizabeth Rossiello.
Elizabeth is the CEO & Founder of AZA Finance. AZA Finance is an established provider of currency trading solutions that accelerate global access to frontier markets through an innovative infrastructure. This episode discusses AZA Finance acquiring businesses, how they've grown across Africa and advice on growing your business from 0-50 people. In addition, Elizabeth discusses all things FinTech, a fitting formula for acquisition, and why Boards push back on crypto.
FIDO - leading the way to a passwordless future with Andrew Shikiar, FIDO's Executive Director
Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director & CMO, FIDO Alliance, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how he came to work with FIDO Alliance, an open industry association launched in February 2013 whose mission is to develop and promote authentication standards that help reduce the world's over-reliance on passwords.
Here are some of the insights Andrew shared:
How Andrew came about leading FIDO
Discussed what FIDO is and how it works
A world of passwordless future as an alternative to bypass authentication
Importance of security and privacy to go passwordless
The latest development in projects and standards that push towards a passwordless future
Discussed 2 step verification and if it works in the meantime as we transition to a passwordless world
Differences between financial services and other industries towards their openness towards a passwordless future
Other work areas of focus at FIDO: identity verification & binding, and lastly, the Internet of things
The key themes emerged at the Authenticate 2021 conference, which Andrew hosted recently
The best way to find out more about FIDO
Asia Pacific Series with Angela Conroy: Disrupting legal services with LegalTech Intelllex's CEO Chang Zi Qian
Angela Conroy, CEO, and co-founder at Notarum, spoke to Chang Zi Qian, entrepreneur, lawyer and historian, and CEO and co-founder at Intelllex about disrupting legal research by leveraging categorization technology they developed.
Here is what they covered:
Chang's backstory: from a law firm to government and the world of innovation and entrepreneurship
How do digitize and automate the legal research
Thoughts on starting a business in Singapore
Licenses and regulations, especially when it comes to FinTech and crypto
How pandemic has impacted legal services, especially for junior lawyers
How to find the right co-founder
Check out their flagship product here.
Launching digital assets easily with CEO and co-founder of Zero Hash, Edward Woodford
Edward Woodford, CEO, and Co-Founder of Zero Hash (VC backed, including Bain Capital Ventures, Point72, NYCA & tastytrade), discussed his serial entrepreneur journey leading to his current venture that enables launching and distributing digital assets easily with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
Here are some of the insights that Edward shared:
Edward's serial entrepreneurial journey and lessons learned
Why Edward is a believer in digital assets promise
Zero Hash solution: distribution platform for digital assets globally
Which types of digital assets Zero Hash supports
Zero Hash and regulatory framework
Edward's view on traditional financial services firms' embracement of digital assets
Advantages of companies moving from Finance 1.0 to Finance 2.0
His thoughts on the DeFi overlay
Best way to reach out
Voice of FinTech Africa Series with Patrick Awori: Powering e-commerce in Africa with Flutterwave's Elizaphan Mouko
Africa’s FinTech infrastructure companies are radically transforming the technology and financial services industry with the help of APIs that enable virtually any software company to offer financial products directly to their end customers. Unregulated startups offering financial products through APIs and bank partnerships are well-positioned to take advantage of these trends. Thousands of Small Business Enterprises are prevailing as winners, too, as their barriers to entry are eliminated by these companies’ plug-and-play business intelligence and payments solutions.
In this episode, we interview Elizaphan Mouko, Flutterwave’s East Africa Business Head, about their strategy for the region and why supporting Africa’s small businesses is an important pillar for their organization and economic development in general. We spoke in detail about Flutterwave’s comprehensive service offering and their simple onboarding process. We also discuss Africa’s current VC funding boom and why- according to Eli, “We are just getting started.” Finally, we conclude that Africa’s challenges are significant and that we can only tackle them if we work together.
Elizaphan quotes Isaac Newton’s famous saying, “We can see further by standing on the shoulders of giants,” to stress the importance of ecosystem thinking in solving Africa’s fintech challenges.
We can see further by standing on the shoulders of giants, Isaac Newton.
Best practices in Corporate Venturing with Fidelity's Alokik Advani [image error]Alokik Advani, the Managing Partner of Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, discussed best practices in corporate venturing with Rudolf Falat, creator of the Voice of FinTech.
Here is what they talked about:
Alokik shared his story – how he got to where he is now
Fidelity’s approach to working with start-ups: from partnering to investing
What is the mandate of Fidelity International Strategic Ventures?
Alokik shared some of the success stories of the start ups he has helped and identified which start-ups he had invested in
How Alokik and his team find start-ups, weighing in the pros and cons of inbound and proactive outreach
Key FinTech themes he wants to follow up as an investor: embedded finance - democratizing access to investment products or sustainability
Discussed valuations, previous bubbles and bursts, and the record height fundraising for FinTechs
How do Alokik and Fidelity think about whether to invest or not
What is it like to work with Fidelity as an investor
Corporate VC’s bad reputation and suggestions on how to do it right
How can interested parties reach out to Alokik and Fidelity?
Venture building and investing with Marc Penkala, hosted by Wani Baumgartner
Marc Penkala, a VC angel investor, entrepreneur, and fund advisor, discussed his highly successful investment journey leading to his current investment vehicle, Minimal VC, with Wani Baumgartner, Finance and Life Sciences recruiter and the Voice of FinTech's guest host.
Here are some of the insights that Marc shared:
How serendipity plays a role and has led to some of his best investments
The importance of team-centric when deciding to invest
How he de-risks despite having a high-risk tolerance
The need of being intimately aware of your biases
Why and how to network
His ten principles on life gained from lessons derived from work
Glassbox - experience intelligence for your digital customer journeys [image error]
Yaron Morgenstern, CEO of Glassbox, talked about his entrepreneurial journey with his company, how Glassbox improves digital customer journeys for their clients around the globe with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
Below are the notable points of the conversation:
Yaron's backstory
What is Glassbox? What is experience intelligence
How Glassbox stands out with improving the digital journey compared to other existing solutions in the market
How to measure a client's success when it comes to digital customer journey?
How challenging (or easy) is it to start using Glassbox solutions?
Key clients of the company like SoFi
Business strategies that scale the company to its' current level and advice to start-up businesses
Ways to scale up
Key milestones ahead of Glassbox
The best way to reach out and find out more about Glassbox
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSOctober 27, 2021
October summary!
Zurich, Switzerland
In case you missed out on the October episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Superbid — auctioning off NFTs of memories and experiences with sports personalities and more (e.g. US Open Finalist Leylah Fernandez)
Wojciech Sobczuk, co-founder and CTO at Superbid.io, an NFT experiences and memories auction site, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast about the NFTs, Superbid’s approach and focus on tennis, movie and gaming personalities, blockchain protocols in the background and more!
In more detail, here is what they talked about:
Wojtek’s backstory and entrepreneurial journey to Superbid
What is Superbid? Auction site for experiences and memories to help tennis, movie, and gaming personalities to engage better with their fans
What are NFTs? Are they related solely to online memorabilia or also offline experiences?
How does one know there is only a limited supply of NFTs related to an item?
How are they stored so they don’t get hacked?
Which blockchain protocol does Superbid use in the background?
How can you sell my NFTs?
Why focusing on tennis?
Tell us about the recent campaign you had with your Ambassador, Leylah Fernandez. How did you come up with an idea and made it happen? How was it to work with her?
Can you give us a glimpse of what else you are preparing to auction off on your platform?
What’s the best way to reach out and find out more about Superbid?
FinTech 2021 success stories! A critical view by the hosts of Voice of FinTech, live on Fishbowl
Rudolf Falat, the founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast and David Yakobovitch, our New York-based host, took a critical view on the FinTech success stories of the year in their first live show on Fishbowl. They talked about the latest FinTech trends, such as an increased focus on financial literacy, digital payments, autonomous Finance, specialty payroll solutions, and digital-only banks.
Then they dissected the largest FinTech M&A deals, in the US and around the world, including FinTechs being bought by incumbents or FinTechs buying other FinTechs.
They also discussed the latest blockchain and crypto developments, including the rise of NFTs. To sum up, they also talked about the FinTech fundraising volumes, many large rounds and an increasing list of unicorns featured on the Voice of FinTech!
Bridging fiat and crypto and improving your payments experience with Petr Kozyakov, CEO of Mercuryo
Petr Kozyakov, co-founder and CEO of Mercuryo spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast about bridging traditional Finance (fiat currency) and crypto to enable users to switch seamlessly between fiat and crypto and improve the payments experience.
In more detail, here is what they talked about:
Petr’s journey from traditional payments to crypto
How does crypto fit into the old world, the legacy world of Finance?
What’s the problem Mercuryo is solving?
What are the concrete benefits of crypto over current payment infrastructure or other emerging new payment rails?
How safe and secure are the interfaces (crypto to fiat, crypto wallet to exchange, etc.)?
Which cryptocurrencies can Mercuryo support?
How does Mercuryo support nascent NFT markets?
Key markets
Business model
A recent blog article is called “Mercuryo: The Place To Be For Women in Tech”. Why is it important?
The next major milestones
The best way to reach out
Building a DeFi community with Matthijs de Vries and Anders Christensen from AllianceBlock
Matthijs de Vries, founder & CTO and Anders Christensen, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Head of Ecosystem at AllianceBlock, shared their insights on growing the blockchain and decentralized Finance community and solutions with Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast.
Below are the salient points of their conversation:
Matthijs and Anders’ intertwined journeys
Identifying the problem to be solved
How their solution works
Traditional Finance vs. DeFi
Target clients
Blockchain protocols supported by AllianceBlock
Leveraging AI technology and Machine Learning
How can a newcomer break into this space
AllianceBlock and regulation
The best response to bankers saying you will always need humans to organize fundraising?
Upcoming key milestones/product map
Knowing the best way to reach out and find out more
Making early stage investing smarter with AI and data — Penny Schiffer, CEO of Raized.ai
Penny Schiffer, CEO and co-founder of Raized.ai, a Swiss-based start-up determined to make early-stage investing smarter using data, AI and analytics, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast about the pain points in the early-stage investing for investors and start-ups, how to address them using technology, product development and fundraising approach and more.
Here is the exciting story of Penny and smart VC (or early-stage) investing:
Penny’s journey from Accenture and Swisscom to the startup world
Pain points in VC investing?
Every VC firm would like to find the best startups earlier; many rely on their network and inbound ideas. So why is it not enough?
Startups love to work with efficient partners: how can their communication about potential fundraising with VCs be improved.
Many investors stay that early-stage investing is more about backing a team rather than an idea. So how does an AI solution can help assess the team?
Word of advice for startups approaching VCs and pitching to raise funds
Alternatives to VC funding (clients, angels, grants)
Raized.ai’s solution — a B2B SaaS company
Where is Raized.ai on its journey in terms of product development and funding
What are the following milestones ahead of you? I hear that you are hiring?
Best way to reach out if you are interested in becoming a client, investor or want to join Raized.ai’s team
Asia Pacific Series with Chia Jeng Yang 谢征阳: Building payments infrastructure in South East Asia with Y-Combinator backed Arrow’s CEO Neo Liat Beng
In this episode of Voice of FinTech: Asia Pacific Series, Chia Jeng Yang, Principal of Saison Capital based in Singapore, spoke to Neo Liat Beng, founder of Arrow, building one-click check out experience across South East Asia.
Here is what you can learn from their conversation:
What is it like building payments infrastructure in Southeast Asia
Neo’s experience building start-ups as a Southeast Asia founder and ex-Fintech Executive
Neo’s journey building the Fast / Bolt of Southeast Asia
Smart contracts and AI in modeling business with Andreas von Estorff, CEO of ModelManagement.com [image error]Andreas von Estorff, a serial entrepreneur, advisor, and CEO of ModelManagement.com, spoke to Rudolf Falat about digitizing the modeling business through smart contracts, AI and more.
The following are just a few of the many fascinating topics they have brought to our attention:
Andreas’s background and how he got to lead ModelManagement.com
Payment issues in the modeling business
The role of platforms like ModelManagement.com in contracts between models and clients
Facilitating the adoption of smart contracts in the modeling world and its challenges
Operational solution for smart contracts / best blockchain protocol for smart contracts
Leading the digital transformation of the modeling world beyond smart contracts
Potential for virtual or augmented reality in modeling
Andreas opinion about 3D modeling and changes to in-person modeling like catwalks, showrooms after the pandemic
How to reach and find out about ModelManagement.com
FinTech 2021 success stories continue! A critical view by the hosts of Voice of FinTech, David Yakobovitch and Rudolf Falat -recording of our latest LIVE show on FISHBOWL
Rudolf Falat, the founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast and David Yakobovitch, our New York-based host, took a critical view on the FinTech success stories of the year in their latest live show on Fishbowl. They talked about rapid growth and regulatory backlash of N26, FinTech M&A (e.g., Revolut and HRTech), BNP scale-up strategies of Square and Klarna, quantum computing, CBDCs in Nigeria, incumbents like HSBC getting into BaaS with Oracle and more!
You can now also follow them on Fishbowl, just search for Rudolf Falat or David Yakobovitch so you don't miss the next session, scheduled for November 30!
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSOctober 7, 2021
September summary
Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the September episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Improving Financial Inclusion Through Data-Driven Lending
In this episode of Africa Series, Stacey Japhta, Head of Strategic FinTech Partnerships at Talent in the Cloud, an emerging markets FinTech executive search firm and host of Talking success podcast, spoke to Tim Nuy, founder and CEO at Finclusion Group and Matsi Modise, its Non-Executive Chair about how to improve financial inclusion through using alternative credit score data, Finclusion’s mission, Matsi’s governance experience and more!
Predictive analytics for trading with Aisot’s CEO and co-founder Stefan Klauser
Stefan Klauser, co-founder and CEO of Aisot, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how to make traders’ performance better using new technology.
Here is what they talked about:
Stefan’s interest in entrepreneurship even though he started working as a diplomat at the Swiss Embassy in the US and then a researcher at ETH
Very first steps of Aisot
Why do we need predictive analytics for trading
How good is the technology today
How does it relate to or differ from algo trading
Who are Aisot’s target customers?
Business model
Where are you on your journey in terms of product development, geographic reach, funding, hiring? Any numbers you can share?
Key milestones ahead of Aisot, Stefan and his team
The best way to reach out
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: How FinTech can make retail purchases more inclusive with Katapult’s CEO, Orlando Zayas
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch spoke to Orlando Zayas, CEO of Katapult about how pandemic has changed the way we shop, Katapult’s role in the value chain, alternative credit scoring and BNPL and ongoing public with the SPAC Finserv.
The pandemic transformed the way we shop forever:
eCommerce rapidly expanded; it would have taken 5–10 years to reach its point today without the pandemic. Online shopping and BOPIS (buy online and pick up in-store) is a purchasing trend expected to become permanent. What people are buying has changed also; people are spending more money on electronics, home goods, and appliances while clothing and apparel decreases.
Buying power also changed during the pandemic:
Buying power changed overnight, lenders immediately tightened up, and even prime customers were denied financing. Beyond the pandemic, non-prime consumers don’t have the same buying power as prime consumers; they need options. For prime consumers, when lenders tighten up, you need to have other options.
AI & Machine Learning:
AI & ML are forever changing all of the technology, including fintech. We can gather a massive amount of data, and after analyzing, we continue to optimize our behavior model (Katapult’s proprietary scoring model). Our Katapult score continues to outperform the fraud point score by a third-party-the-shelf model. The ability to now gather data with AI & ML enhances the user experience and allows lenders to assess risk models better.
BNPL is growing as rapidly as eCommerce:
BNPL has expanded amid the pandemic as people found they needed additional financing options and retailers needed to capture a new segment of customers. Katapult focuses on the nonprime customer, which is one of our differentiating factors from Affirm, Klarna, etc.
Going public via a merger with SPAC Finserv: The decision to go public now and what the process has been like from a virtual perspective.
Orlando’s approach to revenue growth:
Orlando joined the company in 2017 when revenue was at 17M and closed 2020 at almost 200M. Hiring the right people, make sure you have a CFO you can trust, keeping the “dumb” list of all the things to stop, having a vision is great, but you need to have a foundation and strategy to achieve your vision.
The art of pitching right with Donna Griffit, corporate storyteller and pitch alchemist for start-ups
Donna Griffit, corporate storyteller and pitch alchemist for start-ups, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about why it pays off to pay attention to your storyline when you pitch for funding, what to include and what to avoid and a lot more!
Here is what you will learn:
Donna’s backstory: from acting to corporate storytelling
What is corporate storytelling? How not to be boring in business!
Why is it important?
How should a good storyline look like?
How do you build it?
How do you deliver it?
Focusing on the founders, what do investors talk about after the pitch?
What does it mean, fundraising Silicon Valley-style?
What are the few biggest mistakes start-ups make in their pitches? What must be in the pitch deck?
What’s different if you are fundraising as a woman?
Check out further resources from Donna on her website here.
What’s the best way to reach out?
Building regulated digital market infrastructure with SDX (SIX Digital Exchange)’s General Counsel, Nathan Kaiser
Nathan Kaiser, General Counsel at SDX (SIX Digital Exchange) in Zurich, Switzerland, spoke to spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about his thoughts on building infrastructure for digital assets, utilizing blockchain, SDX’s initiatives internationally and CBDCs.
Here is what they covered in more detail:
Nathan’s background and journey to the digital assets space?
SDX mission — the problem that SDX is solving. Relationship to SIX.
Nathan’s mandate at SDX
SDX just got the license from FINMA. What does it mean? What services is SDX providing and when?
Target clients — SIX members and more
What kind of asset classes can be traded using SDX infrastructure now and in the future
SDX entered into a Singapore-based joint exchange venture with SBI Holdings. What are SDX’s international ambitions?
Why do we need CBDCs?
How is SDX involved in CBDCs development? SNB, BIS and BdF test
The best way to reach out and find out more about SDX
Building an institutional business in blockchain with Blockchain.com’s Dan Bookstaber
Daniel Bookstaber VP of Markets at Blockchain.com, leading global provider of crypto and digital assets services, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast about the evolution of blockchain, latest developments, ways to build an institutional business in blockchain, long terms predictions and more!
Specifically, here is what they covered:
Dan’s background and journey to the blockchain / digital assets space
Blockchain.com’s mission and activities: from blockchain browser to the digital wallet to lending and derivatives today
Dan’s mandate at Blockchain.com: building institutional business
Blockchain.com’s key clients and how their needs differ
What’s different about Blockchain.com’s digital wallets?
Trading and lending services — how is Blockchain.com funded and regulated
What kind of asset classes can be traded on Blockchain.com?
Thoughts about NFTs
Blockchain.com recently acquired AiX — it seemed like a capability play. How does Dan think about organic vs. inorganic growth?
Blockchain.com’s international ambitions
Dan’s long-term prediction — will we have only a handful of crypto winners that we already know or a new player will emerge and push everyone to the side?
The best way to reach out
Asia Pacific Series with Taneia Bhardwaj: Building financial planning platform for women in India with Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of LXME
Taneia Bhardwaj, Head of India Consumer Business at Nium, spoke to Priti Rathi Gupta, founder, LXME (financial platform for women). Finance is a feminist issue. And if there’s one person who gets it — it is Priti Rathi Gupta — founder of financial planning platform LXME. So much so that she founded LXME intending to bridge that gap between women and Finance. In this episode of Voice of Fintech, we chat with Priti, to understand how she is inspiring a wave of financially fearless women in India.
Here is what Taneia asked Priti:
Why did you think that there was a need for a gender-based investment platform? What is the problem that LXME is trying to solve?
Community first, product later approach. You are solving a behavioral issue There’s no denying that women’s financial lives unfold differently than men. How is LXME designed differently — what is your value proposition?
LXME is building a community of thousands of like-minded women — how big are it and any learning along the way?
A lot of people turning to social media for investment advice. In the last two years, new platforms have created a business out of making investments simpler, quicker, and friction-free- we’ve even seen gamification for motivation — of financial services is touted as the new frontier for millennials
What is your business model?
Plans for LXME
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSSeptember 16, 2021
August summary
Nice, France
In case you missed out on the August episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
Making insurance agile with Nick Sühr, CEO and founder of Kasko
Nikolaus Sühr, CEO and founder of Kasko, a London headquartered InsurTech-as-a-service spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how Kasko helps incumbent insurers reach customers with new offerings and features quicker than on their own.
Here is what they talked about:
Nick's backstory: How and why has Nick decided to start his own company
What is embedded insurance and Insurance 3.0
Why are embedded insurance and Insurance 3.0 exciting?
What is Kasko? How does it work? What is the problem that Kasko is solving?
What is Kasko's unique advantage? How is it different from other digital business enablers?
How do you make money? How do you think about unit economics and scale? What is your business model?
Kasko's key clients and your value proposition for them: Insurers and brokers / digital businesses
Key milestones so far and plans ahead
Key lessons learned for potential entrepreneurs thinking of starting their own business
Do you have a favorite business book you can recommend? Atomic Habits by James Clear
Grit by Angela Duckworth and Principles by Ray Dalio
The best way to reach out
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: Why FinTechs must rebuke "quick-to-market" approaches with Patricia Montesi, CEO and co-founder of Qolo
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch spoke to Patricia Montesi, co-founder and CEO of Qolo, a FinTech for FinTechs.
Here is what they discussed (and more):
FinTechs have traditionally didn't always like the relationships but had nowhere else to go. Today there are more options, but unhealthy relationships remain. Now, FinTechs get lured by "quick-to-market" approaches that limit functionality and revenue. Rather than setting them up for growth, they’re more like cell phone contracts which look great to start but lock clients into expensive, long-term deals that don’t really meet their needs. How do you future-proof FinTechs for future growth?
FinTechs demand omnichannel capabilities and more control over product customization and revenue, leaving the door open for competitors to take advantage. We are in a Fintech Gold Rush right now, and the Fintech industry is getting smart about how it wants to attack the opportunity. It takes a next-generation payments approach to meet the need truly.
Alongside the FinTech industry’s reputation as forward-thinking and fast-moving lies a parallel universe of notoriously slow players and systems that are still nostalgic for an era gone by. The pandemic has provided revelations and we have also unearthed an undeniable truth - for the payments industry to continue providing essential services, we must be willing to pull back the covers. And there is one dirty secret that’s stopping us from moving forward with a more trustworthy and transparent industry: We’ve Got a Big Risk Management Problem. The payments industry ecosystem includes four major components: infrastructure (like Qolo), program managers/resellers (like Payoneer), middlemen (resellers), and businesses. Program managers sit one level above infrastructure services, but that means they are also one level removed. Middlemen like Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) providers push their customers back one level more. And with each level is a new link that can be broken, introducing further risk, cost, and loss of efficiency. The industry-accepted this multilevel approach in earlier days, but more recent news has revealed a flaw in that model, and some FinTech companies are still reeling from it.
Conclusion:
Learn more about how better to assess future needs by careful vetting of your technology
Demand more from your payments platform
Leveraging neuroscience in financial well-being with Dreams' Lucia Hegenbartova
Lucia Hegenbartova, CCO of Dreams, Swedish neuroscience-FinTech, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about using neuroscience when engaging with your clients in financial services.
Here is what you learn from their conversation:
Lucia's entrepreneurial journey so far
What is Dreams? Dreams provides a custom experience layer that enables banks to boost their customer's engagement in financial products.
What does CCO (Chief Commercial Officer) role mean in day to day life
Dreams' unique advantage: understanding how the human mind works, especially when it comes to financial products
Many incumbent banks have become product factories over many years and being client-centric sometimes seems more of a priority for FinTechs. Who are target clients for Dreams?
Dreams team has recently published an article Why Banks Must Start Caring About Financial Wellbeing, where the HBR article stating that emotionally engaged clients are 35% more valuable than highly satisfied customers was mentioned. How come?
How do you apply neuroscience in your work on emotional wellbeing and help your clients ultimately make more money?
How do you help clients increase their clients' financial wellbeing and build higher loyalty and potential for up-/cross-selling additional financial products?
What are the most common misconceptions that banks have about human decision-making, and how it's reflected in the design of the products they are offering and how to do it better?
How do you make money? What's your business model?
Where are you on your journey in terms of geographic reach, hiring or funding?
A favorite non-fiction book Lucia recommends The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness by John Yates
Best way to reach out
Asia Pacific Series with Angela Conroy: Taiwan as a tech, not only a hardware hub with Mark Hsu from GD1 VC fund
In this episode of the Asia Pacific Series, Angela Conroy, co-founder and CEO at Notarum, an awesome RegTech based in Singapore, spoke to Mark Hsu, a serial entrepreneur and a tech VC investor based in Taipei, Taiwan - partner at GD1 VC Fund - Global from Day 1 about transforming Taiwan into a leading tech hub in Asia beyond manufacturing.
Here is what they covered:
Mark's back story - what led him from the US to Taiwan
Tech scene in Taiwan - development from a manufacturing hub (toys mainly to semiconductors) to a tech hub today - major established players and emerging new players
Doing business in Taiwan - from the language considerations to culture and history, cost of living and a wide choice of tech talent
Market entry to Taiwan - success stories
Global from Day 1 VC fund - supporting start-ups from Taiwan and New Zealand (public-private partnership with respective governments as part LPs)
The future of banking with Neon's co-founder Simon Youssef hosted by Silvan Krähenbühl
In this episode hosted by Silvan Krähenbühl, a serial entrepreneur and host of the Swisspreneur podcast, Silvan spoke to the co-founder of Neon, a leading Swiss digital bank, Simon Youssef, about the future of banking.
Here are the highlights of what they talked about:
Leaving your well-paying corporate job
The business model behind a free product
Is Revolut a competitor?
Being on Höhle der Löwen
Doing a 5M tokenized crowd investment
Simon Youssef's story
Simon Youssef is the co-founder and CTO of neon, a transaction account for everyday finances. Before starting his own company, he was an associate at the management consulting company Strategy&. His educational background is in Physics, and he holds a PhD from the Microsoft Research Lab.
Simon and his co-founder Jörg Sandrock worked together at Strategy&, where they became well acquainted with the Swiss banking market. After a few unfulfilling projects, Simon went on a surfing sabbatical in Indonesia. During this time, Jörg proposed the neon business idea to him, and Simon decided to take the leap.
Whereas typical banking apps cater to the bank's sales interests, merely replicating the organizational structure of a traditional bank, neon offers a client-focused product free of charge, with the lowest fees in Switzerland. Neon manages this because, having a team of around 20 employees, they can live on much slimmer margins. Their revenue comes from card interchange, premium plans like neon Green, and finance fees (from when clients buy partner products on the app).
Revolut and Transferwise don't pose a very big threat, since they're more travel cards than anything else. neon, on the other hand, is a Swiss banking product, meaning they can offer you a Swiss IBAN, e-bills, and so on.
Having been the first of its kind in the small Swiss market, neon has already amassed 70 000 users, in part due to the large amount of press coverage they received. Their participation in Höhle der Löwen, while helpful cash flow-wise, did not bring them as much of a boost as they initially imagined.
Recommended resources: How I Built This and The Happiness Lab.
Voice of FinTech Africa Series with Patrick Awori: Leveraging blockchain to improve access to finance with Celo foundation's Umar Sebyala
Patrick Awori, Founder and CEO at Imaginarium, a Kenyan-based FinTech behind the Circle, a virtual savings platform, hosted another episode of Voice of FinTech: Africa Series. Patrick spoke to Umar Sebyala, Uganda Ecosystem lead at cLabs, working on Celo, about democratizing access to financial services leveraging blockchain.
Africa's young and tech-savvy population has already embraced mobile money and is now looking to blockchain technology and cryptocurrency to redefine the digital economy. Numerous decentralized finance applications have emerged as possible solutions to unlocking economic health and prosperity across the continent, especially for the 350 million adults who are still excluded from accessing meaningful financial services (about 17% of the global population). As collective sentiment about blockchain technology rises, so does the debate surrounding its evolution from hype to mainstream in Africa.
In this episode, Umar Sebyala walks us through the Celo Foundation's mission to empower anyone with a smartphone to access financial services on a decentralized platform operated by a community of users. We discuss Celo's Alliance for Prosperity initiative, and how the many stakeholders across the world work together to create a connected and purposeful experience for everyone. We also delve into trends in the adoption of blockchain technology and examine the Celo community's artful ways around some of the challenges such as volatility and awareness. We conclude the episode with a chat about sustainability and pinpoint a few gaps that fintech entrepreneurs, investors and enthusiasts can bridge to consolidate early gains in achieving long-term prosperity for all.
Wealth tech solutions for newly wealthy + NYC FinTech women + Dreamers & Doers with Michelle Tran
Michelle Tran, the adviser to Harness Wealth, founder of NYC FinTech Women and founder member of Dreamers & Doers, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about improving financial advisory for founders and other start-up employees with their new wealth, empowering women on the FinTech and entrepreneurship scene and more!
Backstory: How did Michelle get to do what she does today
Harness Wealth - what is it and how does it work? What’s the problem you are solving and why it is worth solving?
Target clients - entrepreneurs
Business model
WealthTech’s adoption vs other FinTech verticals in the US and the near-term growth potential
NYC FinTech Women – what is it needed and the key activities
Dreamers & Doers – the mission and activities
The main issues on the FinTech scene in terms of diversity
The reasons behind diversity issues and the ways to tackle the
The book you would take with you on vacation (non-fiction)? Becoming by Michelle Obama
The best way to reach out
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: FinTech vs. traditional bank - the technology advantage with Deep Varma, CTO at Varo Bank
In this episode of the Americas Series, David Yakobovitch spoke to Deep Varma, CTO at Varo Bank about the technology edge of FinTechs vs incumbents and how that translates to customers first approach that works and it's not just a PR slogan.
Here is what they covered:
How Varo’s technology-centric approach allowed the bank to stay focused on its mission and purpose
Technology advantage of FinTechs over traditional banks
Not good vs. bad, but challenges of managing a legacy architecture
How banks' technology stacks are keeping them from being truly customer-centric
Compare Varo’s approach and how technology allows it to put customer needs first
How do you build and scale a tech organization - what kind of people do you need, when is the right time to think about technology implementation, etc.
How you think about technology differently when you are building from the ground up
Why it’s so important to stay truthful to your mission and purpose and to focus on customers. How technology can play a role in those efforts
Key advice to founders: who and why you are serving your customers
Investing smartly with Umushroom's co-founders Luba Schoenig and Tonia Zimmermann
Luba Schoenig and Tonia Zimmermann, co-founders of Umushroom, an interactive investment platform and community, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how community and technology can make your investment process smoother and smarter.
Here is what they talked about:
What is UMushroom?
How did you get to do what you do today?
Umushroom is an interactive investment platform – why is it needed and why now?
How does it contrast with having a good relationship (or investment advisor) manager at my bank?
How do you define superior performance from using your platform?
What’s the technology behind it?
Who are Umushroom's target customers
Where is Umushroom on its journey in terms of product development, geographic reach, funding, hiring?
The best way to reach out
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSSJuly 29, 2021
July summary
Photo by ActionVance on Unsplash
In case you missed out on the July episodes of the Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly summary! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.
AI-powered SMB Lending with Prashant Fuloria, CEO of Fundbox
Prashant Fuloria, CEO at Fundbox, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about leveraging AI to help SMBs with their working capital needs more efficiently. Prashant is also a lecturer at Stanford, Cornell and Berkeley, where he teaches MBAs on building consumer internet businesses.
Here is what they talked about:
Prashant's backstory: from Google, Yahoo and Facebook to Fundbox
Why have you decided to start your own company?
What is Fundbox? What is the problem you are solving?
Why have you created Fundbox? Many people would agree that incumbents often fail SMBs, but why do we need another SMB financing provider?
How have you started with your venture? What were your very first steps?
Target customers
How does Fundbox make money?
Geographic coverage
Tips for SMBs in a cash crunch
The future of SMB lending
Fundbox's journey so far and ambitions going forward
Best way to reach out
Contextual banking with Gerti Dervishi from Flybits
Gerti Dervishi, Chief Growth Officer at Flybits, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about why contextual banking is the future of banking and how to get it right.
Here is what they talked about:
Gerti's background and motivation to join a start-up
What is Flybits and the problem they are solving: helping banks to build better connections with their clients using context, improving their mobile experience
There is a lot of buzz around contextual banking. Yet, people are also more and more aware of how their data is used by companies and maybe vary of their data used for banking services proposals. How does Flybits resolve the tension between relevance and privacy?
Target customers: B2BC business
Business model, unit economics, and scale
Canada and internal presence
A critical piece of advice to Gerti's your younger self
Favorite non-fiction books: The Undoing Project, Shoe Dog, The Hard Thing about Hard Things or The Zero Marginal Cost Society
What are trendy hobbies on the Toronto start-up scene?
Status check of Flybits' entrepreneurial journey
Best way to reach out
Americas Series with David Yakobovitch: BaaS & embedded banking with Y-Combinator backed Decentro's founder & CEO Rohit Taneja
David Yakobovitch spoke to Rohit Taneja, founder and CEO of Decentro, an automated API platform for banking integrations, based in India and Singapore, backed by United States' Y-Combinator about Banking a service, embedded and decentralized Finance.
How is India shaping up as a FinTech destination?
What’s exciting about India?
Are regulators making regulations easy for FinTechs to thrive?
If yes, how? Or if not, what kind of regulations is the community expecting?
How are banks adapting to these fast-paced changes?
How has opening up their APIs changed things for banks?
Why Is BaaS as revolutionary as it promises?
Decentralizing FinTech & making it great, again - Decentro
How did Decentro come into being?
What were the pain points faced which inspired the solution?
What do Decentro’s offerings mean, especially in BaaS?
Product suite & offerings
Case studies and clientele
Prominent customers & solving their use-cases
What’s new!
Conclusion
Any FinTech or Neobank in the US or beyond hoping to widen their horizon to India can reach out to us. We’ll help them to overcome the key cross-border challenges and launch here. If you know someone in your network who could benefit from this, send them along our way! We’d be happy to chat. Also, if there's any particular Financial Institution that we could partner up with and take on a burning use-case, we’re all ears!
Sustainable Finance: Challenge and the opportunity for the Swiss Financial Center with Christoph Baumann from SSIF
Christoph Baumann, Deputy Head Insurances & Risks at State Secretariat for International Finance SIF (SSIF), spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about how Switzerland sees sustainable Finance as a major opportunity for the Swiss financial center.
Here is what they covered:
Christoph's journey from the banking and start-up world to the government
Why Green FinTech and Sustainability?
Christoph is Deputy Head Insurances & Risks at SSIF, Initiator & Secretary, Green Fintech Network, Head of Swiss Delegation, G20 Sustainable Finance Study Group, Co-Chair WG Disclosure, and Swiss Sherpa IPSF and Swiss Sherpa at Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate action, Swiss Rep. workstream on Climate Disclosures at FSB - what are the key elements of Christoph's mandates and how they are linked together?
Sustainability has generally gained importance in the financial sector. Various financial centers are committed to sustainable finance, which may lead to competitive pressure on the one hand and to further potential regulatory disparities on the other. Which measures are being taken in Switzerland?
According to a recent study by Swiss Sustainable Finance, the market for sustainable investments has increased by over 30%. What does it mean more in terms of sustainable approaches?
There is more scrutiny regarding sustainability reporting. Where do you see the role of government in this? There are more and more third-party certifications available, but what about the country or global standards?
Where are climate change and sustainability disclosures in Switzerland and globally from an accounting perspective?
Where are the most significant opportunities for innovative technology as an enabler for sustainable finance?
Recommended further reading on Sustainable Finance: Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know
What’s the best way to find out more about Switzerland’s activities regarding Sustainable Finance? SSIF, Swiss Financial Center (Finance Swiss), Swiss Sustainable Finance
Voice of FinTech Africa Series with Patrick Awori: Digitizing transport payments in Africa with Mary Mwangi from Data Integrated (DIL)
Patrick Awori, Founder and CEO at Imaginarium, a Kenyan-based FinTech behind the Circle, a virtual savings platform, hosted another episode of Voice of FinTech: Africa Series. Patrick spoke to Mary Mwangi, CEO and founder of Data Integrated (DIL) about digitizing payments in the transport sector across Africa.
Here is what they covered:
For our audience, what is your background in Fintech in general?
What is Data Integrated’s core business? What other business is DIL engaged in?
As an organization that is very active in digitizing transport payments in Kenya, what is your outlook on the trends in other African countries, especially in the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic? I.e., Do you predict a significant shift towards digital, or Is it more of the same?
What is the regulator’s position on the digitization of payments in the transport sector? Have any interventions been supportive of your initiatives, or have the existing regulations hindered your progress?
What sorts of partnerships is DIL reliant on to deliver on objectives?
Are you raising any capital? What does your organization look for in investors? How would you quantify your business opportunity?
As a member of the Board of the newly established Association of FinTechs in Kenya, could you share some of the merits of consolidating at the association level and any strategies that AFiK has in place to mobilize the participation of Kenyan FinTechs?
How do you propose regulations can improve to foster growth in Africa’s payment space?
In your view, what gaps or opportunities still exist for other fintech actors in the African payments space in general?
Beyond just financial inclusion, how else do you suggest that the fast-growing payments industry in Africa continues to be a key pillar of economic development on the continent?
Any advice for listeners considering a similar career as employees or entrepreneurs
Investing in FinTech well before it was fashionable with Speedinvest's Olga Shikhantsova
Olga Shikhantsova, Principal at Speedinvest, focused at FinTech and Forber 30 under 30, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about believing and investing in European FinTech and redefining VC.
Olga's backstory: FinTechs and VCs, from Russia to Germany
What is Speedinvest? Globally present, European focused early-stage VCs with FinTech, DeepTech, Industrial Tech, Networks, Health investment teams
Speedinvest's roots in Vienna, Austria and founder Stefan Klestil
Speedinvest III - the latest fund's focus
Any stage preference/sub-vertical preferences when investing?
Deal sourcing
Engagement with other ecosystem players
Investment approach, operational knowledge transfer - Platform +
Speedinvest select portfolio examples: Wefox or Open and many more
FinTech’s prospects in Europe post-Covid
Olga's favorite non-fiction books: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz or The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business by Erin Meyer, an INSEAD Professor
Best way to reach out to Olga and Speedinvest
Asia Pacific Series with Chia Jeng Yang 谢征阳: Building an investment app for retail investors in Vietnam with James Vuong, CEO and founder of Infina.vn
In this episode of Voice of FinTech: Asia Pacific Series, Chia Jeng Yang, Principal of Saison Capital based in Singapore, spoke to James Vuong, founder and CEO of Infina Vietnam, about his journey from Vietnam to the US and back, his entrepreneurial journey and his latest venture, Infina, providing investment opportunities to retail investors, similar to Robinhood in other markets.
Here is what Chia asked James:
Hi James, it is great to have you! You’ve had a long career as an engineer, operator, investor and now founder. Tell us a little about yourself and what makes you passionate.
You have been in the Vietnamese startup ecosystem for a very long time, as a VC, VP of Investments at IDG Ventures, since 2008, and then CEO of Lana Group until it got acquired. How has the ecosystem changed, what are some of the key milestones, and what has you most excited about the Vietnamese ecosystem? Could you tell us a bit about what investing in Vietnam was like back then?
Tell us a bit about Infina, what made you pursue this particular opportunity, how you got started, and where you are now.
The Vietnamese consumer is, of course, very different from other markets. What are some of the nuances you’re discovering about consumer investment patterns, the Vietnamese market and regulations?
What has been one of the most surprising things you’ve learned while building Infina?
Startups are hard.
Work life balance won’t work.
Startup is a series of tests.
What are the largest gaps in understanding when founders or VCs look at Vietnam? What things would you say are key things to look at that might otherwise be overlooked, as opposed to Singapore, Indonesia or India? What geographies do you look to as the likely or aspirational model for Vietnam?
FinTech partnerships and investments with Neha Wattas from JP Morgan
Neha Wattas, Executive Director, Innovation & FinTech Partnerships at J.P. Morgan in New York, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about why and how J.P. Morgan likes to partner with FinTechs or invest in them globally.
Here is what they covered:
J.P. Morgan's approach to working with start-ups: why J.P. Morgan wants to be the partner of choice for start-ups
Neha's your team’s mandate (Wholesale Payments)? Strategic focus or financial gain?
FinTech themes in focus: super apps (what are their superpowers?)
How do your deal sourcing and onboarding work?
What do you focus on most when considering partnering, investing or acquiring a start-up? Product market fit and cultural fit
What's the range of potential engagement with start-ups?
How does JPM collaborate with others in the ecosystem
How does the monitoring of your collaborations work
Key piece of advice for the founders
An example of an investment made by the team: Trovata, an open banking platform helping companies managing their cash flow
Best way to reach out
Africa Series with Stacey Japhta: Personalizing customer service with Aneesa Ameer, Head of Innovation at ABSA Life
In this episode of Africa Series, Stacey Japhta, Head of Strategic FinTech Partnerships at Talent in the Cloud, an emerging markets FinTech executive search firm and host of Talking success podcast, sat down with Aneesa Ameer, Head of Innovation at ABSA Life in South Africa.
ABSA Life offers a comprehensive range of life insurance options which include: disability, death, critical illness cover and income protection.
Aneesa discusses all things FinTech, personalizing customer service and encouraging your kids to think outside the box.
If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.
Keep safe!
Sincerely,
Resources RSS
