Money Follows Money: Fintech Funding Up 120 Per Cent In 2018, Asia Could Overtake US In 2019, Says Report
According to a report, fintech companies raised $39.57 billion in 2018 from venture capitalists (VCs), up 120 per cent from 2017.
Also, the investments were spread across 1,707 deals globally, an increase of 15 per cent in the number of deals from last year. The report titled ‘2019 Fintech Trends To Watch’ was published by CB Insights, a tech market intelligence platform.
Commenting on the diverse geographical spread of the fintech ecosystem, the report noted, “Fintech is happening on a global scale with deals outside of core markets (US, UK, and China) accounting for 39 per cent of deals: Fintech deal hubs are starting to emerge globally.”
“Asia saw the biggest boost in deals, growing 38 per cent year-on-year and a record level of funding raising $22.65B across 516 deals. Political and trade war tensions may have caused some of the pull back in H2’18, but 2019 could see Asia overtake the US,” the report further added.
While the present cumulative valuation of 39 fintech unicorns (startups with a valuation of more than a billion dollars) stands at $147.37 billion, 16 of them took birth only last year. In India, PolicyBazaar and Paytm are the most valued fintech startups.
Government Support
While delivering the keynote address at the Singapore Fintech Festival in November 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, Rupay and BHIM as significant steps in achieving financial inclusion in the country.
“There is an explosion of fintech innovation and enterprise in India. It has turned India into a leading fintech and startup nation in the world. The future of fintech and Industry 4.0 is emerging in India,” said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.