A CENTRE of excellence dedicated to financial services technology will open in Edinburgh in May.
The fintech accelerator, believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland, will be based at the Entrepreneurial Spark hub at Royal Bank of Scotland’s Gogarburn headquarters.
It is envisaged that the facility will bring industry leaders together with Entrepreneurial Spark’s expertise in building and growing businesses of scale.
The rapidly growing fintech sector is estimated to be worth around £6 billion to the UK economy.
And the new Scottish hub, which will launch a year after Entrepreneurial Spark’s start-up accelerator at Gogarburn, is being billed as central to ambitions for Scotland to become a world leader in fintech.
David Ferguson, fintech entrepreneur and chief executive of Nucleus, the Edinburgh-based wrap platform provider, said: “It’s great to see larger companies engaging in fintech and supporting the growth of emerging businesses.
“Important lessons can be learnt on both sides and that should only be positive for everyone involved.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “A year on from the very successful launch of the Entrepreneurial Spark hub at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s HQ, I am delighted that the hub is expanding to include space for fintech start-ups within Entrepreneurial Spark.
“This will contribute to the immediate need for physical space for fintech companies while the wider financial services industry continues to work collectively to deliver the fintech strategy. Scotland is already playing an active role in the fintech sector and the strategy will further enhance our standing, both nationally and internationally.”
Lucy-Rose, chief executive of Entrepreneurial Spark, added that the launch of the hub was a “key milestone” in Scotland’s fintech hopes.
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