The pre-seed funding gap.

56 % drop in fintech investments...interesting number...

however, the headline doesn't tell it all...

The total amount invested in fintechs fell 56 %, ok. However , the total number of investments in fintech  dropped only by 18 %. If it were for rising interests exclusively, the number of investments would have gone down proportionally...
Where then does the difference come from?

Simple!

Ratio got back in the game. Investors started looking at reality and at fundamentals as opposed to vain promisses.
The article only refers to PE and VC deals...

These typically follow earlier angel, friends and family and/or crowdfunding deals. Those early-stage funding rounds provide the financial basis that start-ups need to launch and scale their enterprises before becoming attractive to the VC and PE investors.
Here we may find a more hidden issue : the pre-seed funding gap.
Far too many start-ups come short of pre-seed funding because of 2 obvious reasons :

1. the absence of sufficient data for a proper valuation and

2. the complexity of deal making.

Both issues get addressed by Y-Combinators SAFE contract model.
Today SAFE-contracting, in Europe, is slowly spreading and being digitalized, thanks to technologies such as Blockchain.

I can only recommend that founders as well as business angels and (pre-)seed investors keep a close eye on the opportunities offered by Simple Agreements for Future Equity. 

They form the best possible balance between investor and founder interests.