The Northern Ireland financial technology sector could draw £25 million in foreign direct investment to Northern Ireland in the next three years, creating “thousands” of jobs, according to a new industry report.
In laying out a roadmap for the future, the report said the fin tech sector in the province is now worth £392 million a year – which has grown substantially in the last few years – and could see that expansion accelerated if a number of impediments were addressed.
Commissioned by FinTechNI and compiled by Deloitte, the report said small and medium-sized companies need help to make better with investors, foreign direct investor companies and financial services institutions and assistance in encouraging young people to acquire the skills to work in the industry.
READ MORE: {}
It also said the sector needs to develop the funding networks for successful young fintech companies to scale up, securing long-term funding options and identifying opportunities to attract international financial investment.
If those issues were addressed, FinTechNI said the sector could draw £25 million in foreign direct investment from 20 companies.
“Northern Ireland is regarded as a world leader in the Fintech sector and often ranks highly in lists of the best places in the world to locate Fintech companies,” Alex Lee, Chair of FintechNI, said. “We have shown time and again that we can attract foreign direct investment, have a strong talent pool and the right attitude towards the nurturing of fintech companies.”
“However, we recognise that we can't stand still and must challenge the barriers to growth and push our unique selling points to remain globally competitive. This three-year road map being published today outlines the key areas we must focus on to continue to build a collaborative community, leverage the knowledge and the expertise the existing financial and digital sectors and connect that with business support and funding to transform the sector for the benefit of the Northern Irish economy.”
“The potential to create thousands of jobs, attract tens of millions of pounds in foreign direct investment and to assist companies to set up, or scale up, in Northern Ireland is right in front of us and we should not limit our ambition for a sector that has shown such resilience and growth in difficult times.”
Most Read
Ron Kalifa OBE, Chair of the Strategic Review of 海角视频 FinTech, welcomed the report.
“I am thrilled to see a three-year FinTech Strategy launch in Northern Ireland, a region that presents a tremendous opportunity for the sector to create jobs and further international trade by promoting innovation across financial services. This strategy is entirely consistent with the broader review of 海角视频 FinTech launched in February and I am delighted that FinTech NI is progressing the regional agenda through this piece of work.”