The Portugal Fintech Report 2021
ABOUT
PORTUGAL FINTECH
P
ortugal Fintech is a startup-centric network which brings together the key stakeholders of the industry – from founders, investors, regulators and academia, to incumbents in banking, insurance, consultancy and law firms –to create the best conditions for the development of the fintech
ecosystem. The main initiatives have the purpose of connecting startups with clients, providing them with privileged contact with investors and helping them navigate regulatory frameworks. As such we drive our mission by closely engaging and connecting with the ecosystem – promoting a common ground for dialogue and supporting the growth of fintech in a sustainable way. Our activity is, thus, sustained by four pillars of action: talent and academia, capital and investors, mature players, and regulation and policy.
MATURE PLAYERS
Connect fintechs and incumbents to foster collaborative win-win partnerships. Promote cocreation of the future of financial services and create fast tracks for testing between the two universes.
REGULATION
Collaborate with regulatory agencies and legislators to foster an easier, faster, and clearer environment for fintech startups. Help startups navigate the regulatory context building compliant-by-design solutions.
TALENT
Portugal Fintech raises awareness about the opportunities of working in the fintech ecosystem in all layers of talent. The association connects startups with talent from universities and other specialized HR partners to guarantee startups have the right people at the right time.
CAPITAL
Portugal Fintech connects startups with investors at a national and international level, from networking events to 1-on-1 meetings. From business angels to corporate investors and VCs, Portugal Fintech helps gather smart money to speed up business growth.
WE ARE FOSTERING THE ECOSYSTEM THROUGH
THE RESEARCH
An annual portrait of the Portuguese ecosystem.
THE HOUSE
A physical incubator in Lisbon for fintech.
THE SOLUTIONS
Closing the gap between
startups and incumbents.
The Fintech
House
THE MUST GO PLACE FOR FINTECH
Two years after the launch of the first fintech-dedicated co-working space in Portugal, the Fintech House has promoted the prosperity of the ecosystem by enabling the growth of its more than 60 members, both virtually and physically.
During 2021, the Fintech House created monthly forums of discussion between founders of the Fintech House community; staged the biggest hackathon in Europe, ETH Lisbon, and co-organized events on Open Banking and Sustainable Finance, among other themes.
+60
STARTUPS
On the network from all corners of the world
+170
SEATS
At the Fintech House in the business district of Lisbon
+40
EVENTS
Organized until the moment for the community
+30
PARTNERS
Contributing and committed to the growth of the ecosystem
AT THE SERVICE OF THE ECOSYSTEM
The Fintech House is the physical space in a digital world to connect the European fintech ecosystem. Now more than ever, we are aware of the need to connect key players and promote open communication. As such, we host the community-exclusive Fintech House Talks, which consist of discussions where founders are invited to share past experiences, lessons and challenges about different areas of the industry. Additionally,
The Fintastic Fridays are monthly gatherings open to investors, mature players, startups and partners that wish to get to know the faces and the work of our community members.
​
The Fintech House is not only a place for startups, but a place for everyone in the community to be involved in, in a multitude of ways. Be it through tailored programs, such as workshops and hackathons; hosting your own events; getting to know the ecosystem and the best startups to connect with; among other options.
Direct connections with mature players and opportunity to be featured in relevant events to the industry along with potential clients.
Office hours with our main partner, Morais Leitão, for legal advice on: fundraising, growth, scaling, exits, compliance and regulatory issues.
Office hours with experts on talent acquisition and HR consultants; promotion of open vacancies through the Fintech House’s network of newsletter subscribers, LinkedIn followers and a talent-dedicated page on the website.
Office hours with experts on investment plans and strategy, pitch deck and how much to raise, such as startup founders and VCs. Direct connection with investors based on investment needs and value proposition.
A NEW MAIN PARTNER
In July 2021, the Fintech House established a partnership with the Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office (Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, INCM). This partnership aims to focus on digital identity. Digital identity is an essential element to the functioning of current societies, where economic value is increasingly supported by digital platforms that require the identity validation of all its participants, securely and conveniently.
INCM joins Accenture, BBVA, Fidelidade, Morais Leitão and Visa as the main partners that enable the creation of a place fully dedicated to the growth of the Fintech ecosystem.
PARTNERS
Fintech
Solutions
CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN
CORPORATES AND STARTUPS
During the Covid-19 pandemic, financial and non-financial institutions recognized that the future of innovation is achieved collectively.
In addition, mature players reported that innovation initiatives were becoming irrelevant for business teams and interaction with startups was resulting in frustration.
Fintech Solutions was built to be the consultancy arm of Portugal Fintech, with the main goal of helping institutions to work better with fintechs. Check how we are building the future of financial services in ecosystem.
OUR SERVICES
I. DIGITAL JOURNEYS
Know how clients resonate with your services, discover alternative journeys and measure friction and engagement. Work together to design truly digital experiences.
II. STARTUP MATCHMAKING
Define your challenges and we will connect you with the best solutions from startups to technology.
III. POC IMPLEMENTATION
Execute PoCs without friction or overburdening your team. We will provide additional resources to follow up the PoC and guarantee a thorough analysis of its results.
IDENTIFY YOUR CHALLENGES AND DESIGN SERVICES
WE FEED YOUR INNOVATION PIPELINE
INCREASE YOUR TESTING CAPACITY
IV. POC IMPLEMENTATION
Create an integrated innovation pipeline based on formal innovation processes that allow to conduct coordinated activities that contribute to business and engage the organization
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES IN
ECOSYSTEM
THE FINTECH GUIDE FOR SUCCESSFUL PROOFS OF CONCEPT
The recent study “Streamlining Innovation with Fintechs” crosses the opinion of more than 70 mature players and startups to present actionable strategies to work with the ecosystem.
Download at thefintechsolutions.com
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ECOSYSTEM DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS
STRENGTHEN YOUR CAPACITY TO INNOVATE AND
PARTNER
As innovation becomes more and more driven by the ecosystem, organizations must adapt.
The five areas represent practical steps for an organization to extract value from innovation with fintechs.
The study presents a practical approach to a minimum viable ecosystem, in line with the MVP concept, allowing organizations to test, learn and adapt.
POC CANVAS
CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK PROOFS
OF CONCEPT
Based on accumulated experience Fintech Solutions proposed a practical framework for proofs of concept (PoC). The main objective is to provide both institutions’ and startups’ team a practical and familiar tool to organize the fundamentals of a PoC.
The framework highlights the importance of limiting the scope of the PoC, establishing strong communication channels, and setting expectations and objectives.
The Portugal Fintech Report
Each year, Portugal Fintech launches a publication that aims to portray the state of the Portuguese Fintech landscape. This is possible by showcasing our amazing talent, acknowledging the ecosystem’s fintechs and the real work they are doing in collaboration with mature players. In order to reflect on where we are and where we can go, we also deep dive into the main statistics and collect opinions of industry experts identifying the most relevant trends.
2021 was an interesting year for fintech in Portugal. As the world slowly heals, leaving lockdowns and fear behind, we are able to identify some of the shifts and transformations defining the post-pandemic era.
For instance, we see the sector shifting from a hype-attitude into a confident and mature approach, characterized by mature players partnering to conquer their markets. On another hand, the transition into a post-vaccinated world is emphasizing the million dollar question on the future of work – is is it hybrid? Is it remote? We don’t know.
We do know, however, that consumers have raised their expectations on how accessible and meaningful financial services and products should be, due to the rise of embedded finance and banking and insurance as an experience. Perhaps this thirst for simple and intuitive processes can also be the grounds for the emergence of marketplaces as the backbone of commerce.
A much needed and belated focus on the purpose, true stakeholders and effects of organizations’ actions on the world has created an ‘ESG fear of missing out’. Lastly, we couldn’t talk about 2021’s trends without discussing how decentralized finance (De-Fi) has been faithfully gathering stakeholders around its vision.
We leave you with this sneak peak into some of the main highlights of our research.
Our hope is that this report will allow you to connect with the ecosystem, and even inspire you to work with its stakeholders.
Because innovation never stops. And neither do we.
