As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from the Periphery is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.
Asia
- Singapore Business Review names Turnkey Lender and Bambu among Singapore’s hottest startups.
- Citi introduces Facebook Messenger bot in Singapore as initial stage of wider worldwide rollout. (link)
- Revolut founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky discusses plans for APAC expansion with TechWireAsia.
Africa
- Flywire and Flutterwave partner on cross-border payments & receivables in Nigeria.
- Africa-based fintechs picked up almost one third of all Venture funding in Africa in 2017, according to a report from Disrupt Africa.
- Village Capital Fintech Africa Cohort 2018 lists its incoming class of 12 startups.
MENA
- Fintech Circle and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to launch fintech education courses.
- Gulf News Banking takes a look at the digitization of the fintech sector in the Middle East.
- Bahrain-based security startup, Eazy Financial Services, launches first biometric payment network in MENA.
LATAM
- Neener Analytics Completes Proof-of-Concept with Jamaican Payday Lender.
- Alipay partners with Openpay to connect Chinese consumers with merchants in Mexico. (link)
- Amazon.com unveils first debit card in Mexico as part of e-commerce initiative.