Following a brief but noticeable decline during the COVID outbreak, fintech investment is soaring again. As a result, nations throughout the world are seeing an infusion of funding for fintech startups, with both investment totals and transaction counts in the fintech field fast expanding. Although the United States and the United Kingdom receive the majority of fintech financing, smaller nations, notably in Asia, are making their influence felt, this is not unexpected, given that Asia has the highest fintech adoption rate in the world.
Singapore is one nation that is establishing a strong reputation as a fintech centre, and this reputation is attracting significant investment. Total fintech fundraising globally hit $98 billion in the first half of 2021, according to KPMG, with 2,456 deals, recovering significantly from the COVID-inspired investing drop of 2020.
The United States unexpectedly accounted for the majority of the entire investment, at $42 billion. Fintech financing, on the other hand, has rebounded strongly in Asia and the EMEA area. Despite the paucity of notable major acquisitions, Asian fintech fundraising activity reached $7.5 billion in the first half of 2021. According to CBInsights, Asian fintech financing in Q3 was approximately $6 billion, second only to the United States.
Despite its modest population (less than 5 million people), Singapore is rapidly catching up with countries several times its size in terms of investment. Although the KPMG data indicates just $614 million in the first half, Sopnendu Mohanty, Singapore’s chief fintech officer, predicts a big increase in the second half, bringing the total to $3 billion. Mohanty’s confidence warranted, given the record number of transactions signed in the first half of 2021.
When you compare Singapore’s total to nations like Canada and the big European countries, you will see that it is rather impressive. Canada’s overall investment in the first half was $4.8 billion, while France and Germany each invested $2 billion to $2.5 billion. These nations, on the other hand, are six to ten times the size of Singapore and have similar GDPs. Singapore’s investment level is notably noteworthy among Asia Pacific countries.
China and India, the two most populous countries, produced only $1.3 billion and $2 billion, respectively. Australia had a population of fewer than a billion people. When it comes to fintech investment, Singapore is punching well above its weight. Fintech adoption leads to increased investment: Fintech adoption is continuing to accelerate, and the epidemic has simply added to the fire. Adoption rates in Europe, for example, increased by 72 percent in only one year, from 2020 to 2021.
