The FinTech industry has seen dramatic growth over the last 15 years. Roberto Napolitano, director of marketing and public relations at Innovate Finance, tells Financial Promoter how the membership association has escalated its expansion.
Financial Promoter: What does Innovate Finance do?
Roberto Napolitano: Innovate Finance is the membership association that represents UK FinTechs. We connect and convene the FinTech ecosystem in the UK with more than 100 events every year, including roundtables, workshops, and our flagship event Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS). We showcase the success of FinTech in the UK as an important sector for the economy and we advocate on behalf of FinTechs by working with the government and regulators to ensure regulations are supporting the growth of the sector.
FP: How has the FinTech market grown?
RN: FinTech was born during the financial crisis to focus on the customer at the centre of organisations’ propositions and provide a better service for all. Over the last 15 years, we’ve seen the flow of capital increasing, fantastic growth stories, and a consolidation of the sector with more partnerships and collaborations among FinTechs and between FinTechs and banks. In 2022, UK FinTech received $12.5bn in investment, which is second only to the US.
FP: Tell us about the marketing landscape in FinTech
RN: FinTech marketing is creative and innovative. While incumbents usually have a more established reputation, FinTechs have to build theirs and being creative can often pay off. FinTech marketers tend to experiment more with branding, producing memorable campaigns to appeal to their audience in an increasingly competitive market.
FP: How does Innovate Finance stay memorable in its marketing?
RN: It is important that we are consistent with our brand voice, being both the reliable voice of FinTech and keeping our messaging approachable. It’s about striking the right balance between being creative and trustworthy. We are lucky to have a fantastic young team that brings a lot of creativity and fresh ideas, and we have recently started marketing on TikTok and producing more video content on YouTube and LinkedIn to engage with the future generations of innovators.
FP: What’s your strategy for TikTok?
RN: We are now using TikTok when we host events, producing short and informal interviews with some of our key speakers. We have also experimented using TikTok content on different platforms, such as LinkedIn, and we found that posting a TikTok-style video on LinkedIn brought more engagement than other types of content. This tells us that there is a cross-pollination opportunity in our marketing. We also have a bit of fun on TikTok, showing what our teams are up to and sharing educational content on our policy work.
FP: How is Innovate Finance encouraging diversity in the industry?
RN: Of the $12.5bn invested in UK FinTech in 2022, only 4% went to female-founded businesses. That’s a big issue. This is one of the reasons we want to continue to showcase diversity in FinTech – whether it’s gender diversity, LGBTQAI+ diversity, socio-economic diversity, or neurodivergent diversity – through our initiatives, including Women in FinTech and Pride in FinTech. We are proud to celebrate diversity in FinTech and its importance in driving more inclusivity, as well as innovation, to the sector.
FP: What’s coming up in 2024?
RN: In January, we’ll be launching our Investment Landscape Report looking at the capital invested into FinTech in 2023 and how the UK is positioned globally as a FinTech Hub. In March, we are excited to launch our Women in Fintech Powerlist with incredible female leaders making a positive impact in the sector. Our Innovate Finance Global Summit in April will be a celebration of the FinTech ecosystem and of our 10th year anniversary. We can’t wait to welcome industry leaders, investors, international delegations, media, government, and regulators to the Guildhall in London on 15–16 April. And finally, we are expanding our presence in the US to ensure American FinTechs consider the UK as their key hub for Europe, as well as provide a bridge for UK FinTechs wanting to expand into the US market.
This article is taken from the Winter 2024 print edition of Financial Promoter. Click here to subscribe.