There was standing room only at the very first FinTech North in Newcastle last Friday, 5th October 2018. The events-based community created to support FinTech in the Northern Powerhouse, sold out their first event in the city more than a week before the event which took place at hedgehog lab, the rapidly growing Newcastle tech success story based at Generator Studios.
The event saw individuals from tech, financial services, public sector and academia come together for a morning of discussion around how to best support FinTech in Newcastle and the North-East region, how to grow a start-up, diversity in FinTech and much more.
FinTech North has had significant growth since its inception as a joint initiative by strategy consultancy Whitecap Consulting and FinTech White Label Crowdfunding. Starting from a single event in Leeds in 2016 FinTech North has now grown to 3 full day Conferences and events across 5 cities in 2018. They have now hosted over 21 events across the north and expect to double this number by the end of 2019.
Regional expansion has been a target for FinTech North as part of its objective to support the FinTech community across the Northern Powerhouse so Newcastle was an obvious next step. The response was expected to be positive, and FinTech North Newcastle had sold out over a week before the event. The event itself was full of discussion and engagement as it brought together experts from a range of sectors, and showed the real enthusiasm from the Newcastle business community for driving innovation and collaboration.
Minister for Investment Graham Stuart MP said:
“Events like FinTech North are in demand across the country but especially in Newcastle’s thriving tech community. The Northern Powerhouse is at the cutting edge of financial technology and my department works with partners like FinTech North to give high growth firms the platform they need to succeed.”
Julian Wells, Director, FinTech North added
“We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing FinTech North to Newcastle in October. With so many fantastic tech and financial services businesses based in this great city it’s no wonder there has been such a high demand for this event. We have no doubt that we’ll be back, and soon.”
Those who have missed out on the first of the hugely popular events to hit Newcastle will be pleased to learn however that given the overwhelming response, FinTech North will be back, and soon.
Dates are being discussed for a large-scale conference in the city in 2019 and discussions are underway to deliver more forums in the coming months.
