Financial Services Knowledge Hub
Financial services is New South Wales’ biggest industry, employing over 167,000 people. Sydney, as Australia’s leading financial services centre, ranked fifth in the world for fintech hubs according to a recent global assessment (Ernst and Young: Fintech Adoption Index 2017). Sydney is home to 59% of Australian fintech startups.
About the Financial Services Knowledge Hub
The Financial Services Knowledge Hub is a platform through which financial and related industries can network with their peers, enhance their knowledge of global best practice and connect with research and world-leading innovation opportunities.
The hub is coordinated by the Committee for Sydney and was the driving force in the creation of Stone & Chalk.
Resources and projects
The hub is further researching ways Sydney can compete for talent in the global marketplace to enhance Sydney’s profile as a global talent hub. Working with university partners the project also examines the productive link between global talent and domestic skills.
The research aims to ensure that Sydney remains open to the best and brightest and opportunities to export global talent within the financial and professional services sector.
Projects completed by the hub include:
- Established Stone & Chalk, the centre for fintech in Australia
- Making the most of our talent: Sydney as a global hub report examines what barriers Sydney faces in attracting the world’s best and brightest, while also ensuring we retain talent in Sydney
- Scaling the Fintech Opportunity for Sydney and Australia report showcases the growth of the Sydney fintech environment, recording a remarkable growth of 740% in the number of companies operating in the sector in the past three years, increasing from 100 fintech companies in Australia in 2014 to around 579 (August 2017)
- A summer internship program, Fintern Fever, providing university students the opportunity to work with local start-ups in the fintech sector
- Building the start-up ecosystem in NSW: from grants to collaborations highlights Federal and State grants and incentive programs targeted at startups to support innovation and commercialisation (September 2015)
- Bringing benefits to all: How Sydney's financial services sector leads the Australian economy examines ways in which Sydney’s financial services sector can be a major contributor to jobs and growth in the city (June 2015)
- Unlocking the potential: the fintech opportunity for Sydney provides insight into the rapidly developing market for financial services (October 2014).
Case study: Stone & Chalk
The Financial Services Knowledge Hub was instrumental in the establishment of Stone & Chalk, the largest fintech hub in Asia and the centre for fintech in Australia.
Stone & Chalk is an independent, not-for-profit fintech hub that fosters and accelerates the development of fintech startups by co-locating venture capital, technology startups and established financial services firms.
Since its launch Stone & Chalk has:
- supported 98 fintech startups
- raised $212 million in capital investment
- developed a large national and international corporate membership.