Innovate Finance Joins Lord Mayor in Helsinki FinTech Event

On Tuesday 19th April, Innovate Finance joined the Lord Mayor of London for an afternoon FinTech event in Helsinki. In partnership with Aalto University’s Start-Up Centre and UK Trade and Investment, the event shed a light on why London is the leading global FinTech hub and why Finnish FinTech startups should consider scaling their businesses in the UK.

The Lord Mayor delivered a speech on why London is the destination for FinTechs: the exceptional talent base, a progressive approach to policy and regulation, access to capital and professional services, and the well-connected ecosystem. Of London he said, “Innovate Here. Succeed Anywhere.”

The capital is already attracting a number of Finish FinTechs keen to take advantage of the ecosystem. Access to capital is a key factor. According to key speaker Matti Copeland from EY, “London is one of the very few places where there is respect for valuations.”

Nonetheless, there are several other global FinTech hubs that are now garnering attention including Helsinki. Ever since Nokia’s demise, which freed up a large and highly skilled workforce, Helsinki has become a hotbed of innovation. Hundreds of startups have established themselves in the city, including the likes of global gaming companies Supercell and Rovio, the companies behind Clash of Clans and Angry Birds.

The Finnish FinTech scene has also attracted global attention in recent months, due to the likes of Holvi, an online business banking startup, which was acquired by Spanish banking giant BBVA in March for an undisclosed amount. At the event, Elina Rasänen, Head of Marketing and Communications at Holvi, referred to the company as “a modern money service for the new wave of makers and doers.” Since its launch in 2011, the company has raised funding from Seedcamp, has been acquired, expanded internationally into Austria and Germany, and is now looking towards the UK.

Invesdor, the first equity-based crowdfunding platform in Northern Europe, represents another Finnish success story and a further testament to the budding FinTech scene in Finland. Having launched in late 2012, Invesdor is now live in Sweden, Denmark and the UK. To date, over €13million has been invested through the platform.

Several initiatives have sprung up to support this emerging FinTech ecosystem in Helsinki. Nordea Bank, for instance, set up a FinTech accelerator in July 2015. The three-month programme featured twelve startups delivering payments, blockchain and biometric authentication solutions amongst other things. Arto Kulha, who led the accelerator, spoke at our event and noted that out of the twelve companies, two are already working on pilots with Nordea.

More recently, NFT Ventures launched a FinTech Fund focusing solely on Finnish companies, demonstrating the level of interest in the space.

Although the FinTech scene in Helsinki is still in its early days, we can expect to see an increasing number of Finnish FinTech startups over the next few years. Innovate Finance hopes to collaborate with these startups moving forward, particularly those looking to scale in the UK.