Why FinTech is the key to a much-needed makeover in African aid February 10, 2015 Aid in Africa is big business, but one that is often mired in scepticism. Global companies pour money in through corporate responsibility programmes, alongside government aid, which can be accused of supporting private sector ambitions too closely. Some estimate that every £1 in aid costs the same to administer. This means that the sector is [...]
London FinTech startup Kantox flies past $1bn forex transfers thanks to currency woes and economic uncertainty February 9, 2015 Businesses hit by currency volatility and worried by economic uncertainty are increasingly turning to alternative finance services, helping one London FinTech startup fly. Kantox, a peer-to-peer forex platform for business, has flown past $1bn (£657bn) in currency transfers since setting up shop in the capital in 2011 with an astonishing 20 per cent of that- [...]
UK becoming a tech nation led by London boom February 4, 2015 Brits working in the digital and technology sectors now account for 7.5 per cent of the entire UK workforce, some 1.46m people. Tech is the country’s fastest-growing occupation category. Of this growth, London’s tech cluster, which itself has seen an explosive 92 per cent growth in the number of new digital companies since 2010, is the [...]
London is home to Europe’s hottest FinTech startups as 24 of the FinTech50 come from the capital February 2, 2015 London once again dominates in a new list of the hottest European FinTech startups as the capital continues to put its backing behind the sector’s growth. Businesses from the capital represent almost half of those chosen as the FinTech companies to watch in 2015 by a panel of senior executives from across the world of finance, [...]
TransferWise hits $1bn milestone as London FinTech startups attract more cash January 26, 2015 Confidence in London’s financial technology (FinTech) startup community, and indeed its wider startup sector, was understandably at an all time high yesterday as another of the City’s rising tech stars completed a funding round reaching a $1bn (£663m) valuation. Raising growth-stage capital is often cited as a challenge for tech businesses with global ambitions in [...]
Transferwise attracts $58m in new funding: Money transfer startup backed by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz January 26, 2015 US tech magnates Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have become the latest high profile names to throw their weight behind London money transfer startup Transferwise after leading a $58m (£38.7m) round of funding. Transferwise was set up three years ago by early employees of Skype with the aim of disrupting the transfer market by cutting [...]
London FinTech heads for NYC with Boris Johnson trade mission January 22, 2015 A delegation of London’s financial technology startups are joining Mayor Boris Johnson on a trade mission to New York next month. Digital Shadows, a cybersecurity firm whose clients include the Bank of England, and Azimo, a money transfer business which raised $10m (£6.6m) in funding last March, will go on the trip to showcase London’s [...]
Is London FinTech recession-proof? January 21, 2015 The global financial tech capital faces few challenges. London's financial technology (FinTech) sector is booming. In the last few weeks alone consulting services giant Accenture opened its third London FinTech accelerator programme – whose alumni includes one of the capital’s most promising FinTech startups Digital Shadows. And last week the Canary Wharf Group added [...]
Canary Wharf Group expands Level39 tech startup space for fintech, retail and smart city entrepreneurs January 19, 2015 Canary Wharf’s tech startup space, Level 39, is taking on additional space at One Canada Square to house entrepreneurs focused on developing technology in the fintech, retail and smart city sector. Accenture’s 2015 Fintech Innovation Lab is the first to be housed in the new space and will be joined by another 36 companies taking [...]
London technology sector booms: Start-ups receive twice as much venture capital funding in 2014 December 30, 2014 The amount of venture capital funding given to technology start-ups in London hit a record high this year. According to research group CB Insights for London & Partners, investors put $1.4bn (£0.9bn) into the capital’s young companies over the last 12 months. This is twice as high as last year and 20 times higher than [...]