Fintech
Central and Eastern European Fintech Associations Gather at Unchain Festival
Every year the city of Oradea in Romania welcomes delegates to the Unchain Festival. The weather is warm. The speakers are top notch. And the hospitality is top notch.
Imagine a fintech event in a medieval fortress. Imagine the various military coalitions that were part of daily life when the fortress was at its peak. Polish infantrymen. Venetian archers. Hungarian knights. Romanian pikemen. Germans. Slovaks. Czechs. Bulgarians. Austrians. Russians. Moldavians. Croats. These were the types of soldiers who held off the Ottoman Turks in the 1660s.
Much like the Siege of Oradea in 1660, where there were fewer than 1,000 occupants of the fortress. The Unchain Festival drew similar numbers this June. But in 2024, the fortress’s occupants were less concerned about the Turks and more concerned about the challenges brought on by the rise of AI. Another topic that speakers grappled with was the continued need for finance among small and medium-sized businesses. What everyone agreed on was how banks and fintechs must continue to work together. Just as imperial armies had to work with local militias more than 350 years ago.
Chris Skinner At the Davos of Central and Eastern Europe
Chris Skinner is a legend in Fintech. He was a legend before we started Disruption Banking in 2017, and he will undoubtedly continue to be a legend in the future. This year was his first trip to Oradea. It coincided with the release of his latest book, Intelligent Money.
Bankers, fintechs, regulators and all things disruption enthusiasts are the perfect audience for someone like Chris Skinner. Some of our readers may remember Chris as a keynote speaker during the early days of Fintech Digital Congress in Warsaw. Today he is better known in places like Dubai, Singapore, Amsterdam or London. However, he maintains a strong connection with the fintech markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Many of the delegates at the Unchain Festival were happy to meet him in person at the event.
European Fintech Associations Unite
Last year the biggest surprise for our editorial team at the Unchain Festival was the presence of the academic world. This year they were there again, with Dr. Vasile Alecsandru Strat attend the panel in the early hours of the first day of the event.
This year, something different happened. Representatives of both fintech associations and individual fintechs from across Central and Eastern Europe were much more visible. And they had much more time on stage.
You wouldn’t necessarily expect to find heads of Spanish or Norwegian fintech associations at an event in Romania. But there they were, and not only them. Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Czech and Slovak fintech associations were also represented. Not only that, but by Niklas SandqvistCo-Secretary General of the European Digital Finance Association, was present. The presence of such a host of fintech leaders meant that it was a great opportunity for each fintech ecosystem in the CEE region to take the stage and showcase the various levels of maturity their ecosystem has reached so far.
They did not disappoint me.
Polish and Romanian Fintech Associations Sign Memorandum of Understanding
During the beginning of the second day of work, the content phase was where the various fintech associations came together. And the first event of the day was the signing of a “memorandum of understanding” between the Polish and Romanian fintech associations. Pawel Widawskithe president of the Polish fintech association and Cosmin Cosmathe president of the Romanian fintech association took the stage to finalize an agreement between the individual associations.
This was the moment the delegates had been waiting for. The first panel of the content phase was about “where to look for success in this market”. A handful of startups from all over the region had already declared their interest in growing a business in Romania, which was the main topic of the panel. The Polish perspective was taken into account when looking for success in the Romanian market. The speakers reflected on this international discussion.
Presentation of Central and Eastern European Fintech Associations
The next panel on the content stage was dedicated to the Czech Fintech Forum. This time Martin CorbelarFintech Ambassador at the Czech Fintech Association has supported three of the most attractive fintech representatives on the Czech market. These include companies such as Applifting, Deloitte and Wultra.
Next up was the Slovakian panel, followed by the Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian fintech panels. All panels highlighted the strengths of their individual fintech markets. It was also a great opportunity for delegates to delve deeper into more specific fintech initiatives taking place in the markets. It is worth noting that the banking delegates present were particularly keen to learn more. Especially as many of the innovation heads from CEE banks were looking for new partners to collaborate with.
The initiatives discussed by the speakers covered topics such as:[{” attribute=”” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>artificial intelligence, hyper-personalization, embedded finance and SME lending, amongst others. It was the first time that our editorial team had ever seen such an array of fintech leaders from the region in one place. The organizers were doing everything they could to live up to the promise of an event on the par of Money 20/20 or Davos.
Of course, the Unchain Festival is about much more than a summary of what is happening in the fintech market in central eastern Europe. It is also about what next for regulation, how to get funding and a lot more. Next year we hope to see further regions from eastern Europe represented at the event, and we hope to see more important conversations that can drive change and transformation into a region that is yet to fulfil its potential as a leader in innovation globally.
Author: Andy Samu
See Also:
The Rise of the Retail Investor with Mosaic Alpha | Disruption Banking