Celebrating Fintech – Festivals and Events

Very recently I attended an online mega event on Fintech. It was a packed event, with variety of themes, content, thought leaders, discussion, workshops and networking opportunities.

The event revolved around some key central themes like Web 3.0 & Sustainability. Within this I figured the focus was more on the Web 3.0 tech & Infrastructure (Incl. Blockchain, DeFi & Digital Currencies), and Methods to measure & track Sustainability. Just hope these measures are more transparent and effective, and do not turn out like Carbon Credits or Credit Rating Agencies. Also, some insights into Web 3.0 left one more confused than clear.

Many other allied themes made the cut too, so right from IoT, Financial Inclusion, Payments, Cybersecurity, Quantum, Cloud, MSME’s Financing, Interoperability, Embedded Finance, BNPL, Low code, 5G, AI etc were covered.

The event also had many country focused discussions, where even respective regulators came and spoke. But, one thing which has been lacking (though people are aware) in many global events, is showcasing success / evolution of India Stack and related fintech Initiatives in India (Like UPI, account aggregator, OCEN etc). Since, most of these can be replicated globally. It is time this is done sooner than later.

Many aspects covered were music to my ears, as most of the themes in the event are already a part of my book 3F: Future Fintech Framework. What I liked the most was the announcement of a platform which makes onboarding and discovering vendors easy, and this gets linked to an API Marketplace. I have spoken of exactly this and much more, as part of Fintech API Marketplace (FAM) in the book.

Though the event was well organised, it had a problem of plenty. Besides, the tilt towards vendors and too many showcases in between, caused confusion too. This needs to be delicately handled and a balance, between quality, quantity, knowledge and commerce must be brought in. This was lacking, and hence participants, event sponsors, stall sponsors did not get the most. It’s like you get a lot, but there is only so much of value one can take away.

Finally, there is no prize for guessing the event, as this post is more to highlight the happenings and how such events can be maximised for the benefit of all participants. Happy to hear progressive points / counterpoints / perspectives.