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.  

Financial technology adoption has been incredibly fast in the most advanced economies, but it’s a totally different story for what concerns emerging countries, where the penetration of digital finance services is still very low. The good news for those economies, and for those looking to do business there, is that the potential growth is now extraordinary, thanks to the level of smartphone penetration.
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Having the opportunity to interact with digital finance professionals and innovators from around the world gives Crowd Valley a strong insight into market trends. These trends give a fantastic overview into market demand that is shaped by investors, borrowers, financial institutions and regulators alike. 
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“In the U.S., 33 percent of millennials (ages 15-34) believe that within next five years they will not even need a bank”. - McKinsey & Company. Global Payments 2015: A Healthy Industry Confronts Disruption. 

It is difficult to conceive a reality where banks stand redundant and, while the probability of such a happening is highly unlikely, a large number of individuals globally are adopting a new set of expectations for the infrastructure that supports their pecuniary activities on a p2p, p2b level, e-commerce, or for cross border transactions.
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The Global Fintech Hubs Federation (GFHF), has been announced on August 25, 2016, on initiative of Innotribe and Innovate Finance, to foster innovation across the world’s financial services industry and help startups and institutions gain visibility into new markets. Stakeholders from more than 20 cities around the world, including London, Shanghai, Frankfurt, Istanbul and Nairobi, have already decided to join the federation, with more groups to come.

The adoption of equity and debt crowdfunding has left most if not all policy makers and regulatory bodies challenged to find the right framework to properly regulate the array of platforms launching into the market. These platforms have given accredited and retail investors alike access to alternative investments they would not otherwise have. One area overlooked by most investors and now being addressed by regulatory bodies is investment liquidity. Venture capitalists and business angels traditionally would achieve liquidity with the acquisition of the investment. Crowdfunding differs, an IPO or acquisition isn’t out of the questions but it certainly is less likely. 

What is Insurance Technology (InsurTech) all about? It’s a sub-sector of Fintech that is growing fast and vigorously, with annual investments that increased fivefold in the past three years, totaling $3.4bn of funding poured into the sector since 2010. Insurance behemoths are paying attention like never before. 

Digital finance or fintech is a strong phenomenon on the tip of everyones tongue. The applications however are still often elusive as organizations search how these macro trends impact their existing operations and seek out where they are uniquely positioned and can compete in the market of tomorrow. 
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