Fintech Islands ‘forum for financial inclusivity’

The organiser of the second Fintech Islands 2024 conference, dubbed Fix 24, is touting the forum which opened here Wednesday as an opportunity for the unbanked to be included in the digital financial revolution.

Fix 24’s Chief Executive Officer Allison Hunte said the event, which she described as a “beacon of innovation and community integration in the Caribbean’s financial technology landscape” has seen significant growth since its first edition in 2022.

This year’s conference is attended by just over 500 attendees from North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia. 

“It’s significant in terms of the attendees and where they’re coming from,” Hunte told reporters on the sidelines of the three-day event at the Sam Lord’s Castle Barbados Wyndham Grand Resort.  

“We hope to be the catalyst to expand the financial platform . . . the landscape of financial technology in the region, meaning getting the right people in the room. So we have regulators here, we have founders, CEOs, the banking, the traditional banks, the digital banks.”

A key focus of the conference has been on financial inclusivity, said Hunte, noting that traditional banking systems’ stringent loan requirements often excluded many individuals.

“There are solutions to the problems of micro-lending, where people like hot dog vendors can’t get traditional bank loans,” she said. “They can apply through some of these companies that are here [saying], ‘hey, we’re available for those persons that can’t get loans or assistance’.”

Hunte said Fintech Islands was addressing this gap, showcasing startups and tech solutions that offer straightforward, app-based financial services. These innovations, she said, promise to simplify banking for the unbanked with quick applications and micro-lending solutions, breaking down barriers to financial access.

The CEO also noted that one of the significant outcomes of the previous conference was the tangible impact on Barbados, its economy and the community.

“We’ve seen people who have come to Barbados . . . – businesses that came for the first time at the last conference – purchase homes. They started businesses here,” she told reporters, noting that one speaker, after coming to Barbados for the first time to attend the last Fintech Islands conference, relocated here, buying a home and relocating his family. “And [he] has been very, very involved in the building of the Fintech ecosystem.

“So it’s been significant in terms of watching that expansion happen off of the first conference, and hopefully after the second conference, we’re going to see more of that type of engagement and business growth.”

Fintech Island’s Chief Technical Officer Curt Persaud underscored the potential of technology to simplify everyday banking activities and make financial services more inclusive and accessible.  

He suggested that this is where start-ups have been excelling.

“Startups, believe it or not, are where problems get solved,” said Persaud. “They don’t have the burden of the big corporate structures. They are very nimble. They figure out things very quickly because, simply, they don’t have a lot of money . . . they don’t have a lot of money, you know, to invest. So they try to figure out the most efficient, direct way to solve a problem and that’s where you get the most creativity.” (RG)