aql to host Northern Powerhouse fintech showcase
Fintech delegates from the Nordic and Baltic regions are set to visit aql’s historic HQ in Leeds on 7th November as part of the Northern Powerhouse’s ‘International FinTech Showcase’.
Over the three-day trade mission, which will also incorporate trips to Manchester and Liverpool, the North will showcase its position as the best place to enter the UK marketplace and demonstrate the myriad tech and investment opportunities available in the region.
Leeds is the second largest financial city in the UK and tech has grown into one of the North’s major strengths. This growth over the past decade has come in significant part due to aql’s investment in the region’s fundamental digital “plumbing”, including IXLeeds, the Northern internet exchange.
“Fintech can drive the North’s ambitions and be a significant engine of growth across the Northern Powerhouse in the coming years. This visit is an opportunity to show our friends from the Nordics and Baltics the tremendous potential of the Northern Powerhouse, its infrastructure and talent pool, and to build relationships with some of the world’s most exciting fintech start-ups and entrepreneurs,” said Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.
The showcase is organised by FinTech North in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The three cities are among the UK’s largest economic centres and boast a strong combination of large financial services sectors, world class universities and blossoming tech ecosystems.
aql has supported, and hosted, FinTech North since its inception four years ago, and provided space, philanthropically, to create the springboard for many national, global and Northern Powerhouse initiatives, such as the launch of the Northern Powerhouse itself, Northern Power Women and the first Northern Powerhouse Partnership report. aql HQ is also home to the Estonian Consulate to the North of England and the Isle of Man – a foundation of the Northern Powerhouse-Baltic relationship.
The Nordics and Baltics have birthed some of the world’s most successful startups, including Skype and TransferWise. A morning session on 7th November at aql HQ will give guests a chance to hear pitches from the next generation of fintechs from the regions.
For tickets and more information, visit Eventbrite.
