While tech investment in the UK is soaring, FinTech has remained at the forefront, according to a new report from Tech Nation, the UK body for supporting UK tech entrepreneurs.
The report confirmed the trend that FinTech Global research?had already unveiled in the beginning of March?that investment in the nation FinTech sector more than doubled between 2018 and 2019. In that period, the amount invested in the?industry grew from $4.15bn to $8.44bn.
Prime minister Boris Johnson commented, ?In the space of a single year, we have shattered all records, with technology investment in the UK soaring by 44% to over ?10bn more than France and Germany combined. Britain is second in the world for FinTech, with investment rising by over 100% in the last year alone. And we are number one in Europe for the emerging technologies that will transform the lives of every single human being.p>
Digital secretary Oliver Dowden added that tech is at the heart of the UK industry and that the UK government was determined to keep it that way by “investing heavily in gigabit speed broadband, 5G, cybersecurity, digital skills and research and development.”
The statement echoes that of Rishi Sunak, the new chancellor of the exchequer, who stated in his inaugural budget the other week that the UK government would continue to support the UK FinTech sector and that it would launch a review to see how it could be strengthened.
Gerard Grech, chief executive of Tech Nation, commented: ?In a rapidly changing world, the UK is a shining light for tech entrepreneurs, investors and employees, with jobs in the digital sector now accounting for 9% of its national economy.
?Some of the biggest UK successes; the 77 so-called tech unicorns, are $1bn valued companies now inspiring others, and there are an additional 95 tech businesses across the UK primed to be scaling over the coming years. The success of these businesses will be grounded in the UK tech ecosystem’s ability to build deeper and broader knowledge networks between various constituents such as experienced investors and entrepreneurs and to truly fuel growth across the country.
?We need to stay responsive, with smart regulation, ever increasing access to growth capital and new markets. Every effort we put in now will repay many times over, as the past few years have already shown.p>
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