FinTech Scotland has achieved a new level of Cluster Excellence accreditation, the highest level achieved by a fintech body in UK and Europe.
The European Secretariat for Cluster Accreditation (ESCA) confirmed the excellence award for FinTech Scotland following an in-depth audit of the organisation’s progress and delivery record.
FinTech Scotland is an independent not for profit cluster body jointly established with the financial services sector, universities and Scottish Enterprise in January 2018.
ESCA highlighted several significant improvements by FinTech Scotland to achieve its silver label for Cluster Management Excellence. These include:
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- Supporting the growth in the number of fintech SMEs by 22 per cent year on year
- Leadership of increased cluster collaboration between fintech SMEs, large enterprises, universities, public sector bodies throughout the UK
- Producing UK’s first industry led 10-year Fintech Research & Innovation Roadmap
The response
“I am very proud of the team in achieving this significant milestone and my sincere thanks to all the committed cluster participants,” said Stephen Ingledew, FinTech Scotland executive chair and founder. “The award further recognises our leadership and collaboration across UK reinforcing the pivotal interdependence with each other in fostering progressive innovation within all regions, so the tide rises for everyone”
Sir Ron Kalifa OBE, author of the Fintech Review in 2021, described FinTech Scotland as a ‘bellwether example of leveraging the outputs of fintech innovation and accelerating the regional fintech development and growth’.
He said: “This excellent recognition is a testament to the FinTech Scotland model that Stephen and Nicola have led, and I know they are continuing to use their expertise to further advance national connectivity and provide support to UK regions through the FinTech National Network as well as the new Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology.”
Nicola Anderson, chief executive of FinTech Scotland, also added: “Bringing together leaders from industry, entrepreneurial firms, academia, public sector, we will use our cluster expertise to drive innovation locally in Scotland and in collaboration throughout the UK.
“We are particularly excited about the innovation opportunities in open finance, regulation, payments, and climate finance. Through a collaborative and inclusive approach, these can contribute to addressing the challenging economic headwinds across the UK”
Inclusive cluster
FinTech Scotland’s objectives are to develop an innovative community of fintech firms, generate impactful collaborations between firms of all sizes and foster an inclusive cluster which is UK and globally recognised and connected.
ESCA defines clusters as networks of companies and research/education institutions as well as public agencies that have a thematic focus, are regionally concentrated, institutionally organised and managed by a Cluster Management Organisation.
