I have to say that Laurent Nizri did a fantastic job putting together the Paris Fintech Forum of 2017 and provoking a wide range of discussions in finance and technology. I had the opportunity to discuss fintech adoption both on stage and privately with executive management, including CEOs and innovation officers of some of the worlds largest financial institutions, as well as the leading lineup of fintech innovators, in domains such as regulatory technology (regtech), blockchain and digital currencies (bitcoin, ethereum). I represented Crowd Valley and our part in the paradigm shift.
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As the world goes through a period of dynamic change and volatility, our CEO, Markus Lampinen in collaboration with Grow VC Group Chairman, Jouko Ahvenainen and Jean-Michel Pailhon, a fintech expert with 15 years of experience in the international financial services sector, take a look a closer look at technology developments globally in conjunction with the global economics and political ecosystem.
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As new technologies emerge, they tend to enhance the existing ecosystem by converging with other technologies, eventually transforming various industries. Within the realm of Fintech, the two technologies that are on the verge of transforming it are Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This is the time of the year when you should take your agenda and carefully pick the events that you want to attend to or speak at. We know that and we are also aware that it could be quite difficult because the number of events is so large that it could be tricky to select the ones that are worth to consider. For this reason we decided to prepare for you an extensive but well selected list of the essential fintech events of 2017. Enjoy.

There’s a lot of excitement about blockchain and the opportunities it offers the financial services ecosystem, but a lot of work is still needed on bridging the learning curve around actual applications and implications. The very fabric of blockchain, its decentralization, is what makes it both interesting and at the same time, difficult to fit into current structures.  

It’s amazing to think we’re at the end of 2016, but so we are and it’s time to look ahead to all the materialization we may expect from the digitalization of financial services in 2017. 
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Turning our attention to Eastern Europe, the beautiful country of Czech Republic, steeped in history, catches our attention. With focus of the fintech world concentrated on hubs such as New York, Silicon Valley, London and Berlin, Prague seems to run under the radar for the most part but given that Prague is the fifth most visited city in Europe, it can’t afford to fall behind. Looking at the figure below, we see that there are a number of successful fintech firms comprising the Czech ecosystem.
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With the recent implementation of the demonetization rules by the Government of India, a lot of  interesting events have taken place in the day-to-day life of the Indian masses. With the largest denomination bank notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 taken out of circulation, that accounted for about 86% of India’s cash circulation by value, people were forced to explore alternative routes like online banking and e-wallets as their cash alternatives. 

Switzerland, one of the most important global financial centers and home to more than 250 banks, is actually a small of nation of 8 million people, that you may associate with world class chocolate, luxurious watches, the stunning scenery of the Alps and lakes, as well as excellent education infrastructure and unrivaled living standards. All these things and more, but probably not fintech. At least, not yet.
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