FinTech North Community Survey Findings 2023
2022 turned out to be a landmark year for FinTech North. Throughout the year, we doubled our headcount to a team of 2 full-time employees, hit a milestone of 100 events delivered across the North since inception and now work with more partners than ever before.
As part of our ongoing commitment to champion Northern FinTech and to ensure our offering is as pertinent as possible to our community of over 5,000, we released our Community Survey to hear the feedback of those who are most important to us. This year, we wanted to more effectively track our impact – part of achieving that included updating our survey to help track some quantitive and qualitative metrics. Another big objective of our year was to host the UK’s first ever city-wide FinTech innovation challenge in Leeds. You can read more about that here.
Today, we’re delighted to share the findings of this survey with you, and equally look forward to implementing much of what we’ve discovered into our future strategy and activity.
We’d like to say a huge thank-you to over 100 of you for participating in the survey. Your feedback is incredibly value for us as an organisation.
Congratulations to Georgia Morris, Marketing Consultant at DTM Legal, who was randomly selected as the winner of our £100 voucher prize draw!
Respondent Profile:
- Respondents hailed from a wide range of sectors. 38% of respondents were from FinTech or Financial Services organisations. 29% from Professional services organisations. 17% from Tech organisations.
- We received a good level of input from senior engagement. 32% of participants from c.suite, level or above. 33% were senior managers.
Perceptions of FinTech North:
- FinTech North is mainly seen as a ‘facilitator for connections and networking.’ (87%) and ‘an organisation that delivers interesting FinTech events.’ (81%).
- ‘Being apart of the Northern FinTech community’ is the most valuable aspect about FinTech North events. Followed by ‘Networking and growing my professional network’ and ‘business development opportunities’.
Engagement, our impact, and community sentiment:
- Respondents are very likely to recommend FinTech North, reflected in a strong NPS score of 58.
- 85% of respondents agree or strongly agree that FinTech North events have aided in growing their professional networks.
- 64% of respondents claim they have generated a lead or valuable business connection on the back of a FinTech North event or initiative.
Future FinTech North activity
- FinTech Collaboration / partnerships was event topic of most interest (57%). Followed by AI in the future of Financial Services (55%), Ethical Finance, ESG, Green Finance (54%) and Open Banking and Open Finance (46%)
- Evening social / networking drinks is most sought-after event format (68%). Followed by breakfast seminars (59%), full-day conferences (57%) and roundtables (55%).
- Directory of Northern FinTechs is most sought-after feature for the FinTech North website.
We asked our community for a short summary of positive outcomes from being associated with FinTech North. Here’s some of our favourites:
“Networking with local partners at Fintech North has helped me retain and strengthen existing connections as well as build new ones in the Northern community.”
“FinTech North has offered us a door into the Northern FinTech landscape. Not only allowing us to educate us on trends and challenges faced but also contribute to its growth and development as a region. Fintech North offers a wide range of events from in person to hybrid, allowing many entry points to the events regardless of location.”
“An invaluable source of business connections and intel within the growing fintech scene in the north of England”
“We’ve made personal connections with decision-makers in leading FinTech organisations, raised our profile, gained a better insight into their strategies and challenges for the coming year and opened up opportunities for commercial engagement in the future.”
“I always find myself sitting with or speaking to interesting people that I would never have done without FN. Noticeably diverse audiences which always leads to leaving with a broader understanding than when I arrived. Just wish I had more time to attend more often.”
“Very helpful, at every event, to make new links and contacts-some have definitely led to new work.”
“I’ve met many great contacts and leads through the fintech North events series and learned a lot about the local, national and international fintech sector through their content.”
“FinTech North is an important part of our work in fostering connections with like-minded organisations and learning from talented individuals who share a passion that FinTech can deliver for the regional and national economies”
“This is definitely one of the best events I have visited in North. Currently, I’m not in fintech industry yet, but through my MBA classes I learned a lot about fintech and it raised my interest.”
“Love FinTech North. The events are very slick and straight to the point. Great chance to network.”
FinTech North in 2023 and beyond
2022 was the year we stepped up our support of the Northern FinTech ecosystem, launching our FinTech Marketplace and increasing our resource to better develop and promote Northern FinTech.
We will continue our work in 2023. In February, we helped to host the launch of the new Centre for Finance Innovation and Technology right here in the North at NEXUS in Leeds. We also supported the Bank of England with roundtable events and we look forward to the FCA joining our next conference as keynote speakers.
We look forward to delivering the FinTech Challenge Leeds and hope to replicate it’s successes other regions of the North. We will return to Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester with conferences, trade missions and events. We will welcome visiting FinTech delegations and we will showcase the North as a centre of excellence.
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Since our inception in 2016, we’ve grown from what started out as a one-day event, to an established ecosystem facilitator operating across the breadth of FinTech in the North. We hold a unique position, not only because we are regionally focused, but also because we don’t align to a particular city or region. We operate across the whole North, as a platform to enable collaboration. FinTech North is also strongly aligned with FinTech nationally and is part of the FinTech National Network.
At our events, we provide a platform to share ideas, celebrate Northern FinTech innovation, champion diversity and share best practice. We welcome speakers from all sub-sectors of FinTech and financial services. We see our events as a microcosm of the thriving FinTech ecosystems in the North – a platform to celebrate innovation and stimulate collaboration across the sector. We also strive to be as inclusive as possible and aim to consistently feature diverse and under-represented speakers at every opportunity.
Brands and organisations continue to utilise FinTech North as a strategic platform to grow their profile in the sector, develop their professional networks and ultimately, to engage in a truly thriving ecosystem.
