Turkey showcases its power in financial technology with Istanbul Fintech Week. Istanbul Fintech Week, of which the Financial Innovation and Technology Association (FINTR) is the main supporter, starts on April 13. Organized for the 4th time this year, Turkey's first and largest global financial technology event, Istanbul Fintech Week, will host more than 2 sessions over 50 days. In addition to many international participants, delegations from Azerbaijan and Romania will attend the summit to be held in Istanbul Fişekhane.
“Two days and three summits together in Fişekhane”
Three separate summits, Blockchain Fest, Digital Finance Summit and Women in Fintech Summit, will take place at the event, where roundtables, startups and country presentations will take place. The Blockchain Fest summit on April 13 will feature talks and panels on the concept of decentralization, the structural transformation of centralized exchanges, Web 3 and the metaverse. At the Digital Finance Summit on April 14, expert guests will discuss the transformation of financial products into products that can be offered within all services, payments 2.0, “digital only” banking and many more. On the second day, SEDDK President Mehmet Akif Eroğlu's speech will also take place, and the topic of Insurtech will be discussed in the broad spectrum session attended by the senior executives of the sector.
“The queens of finance will also be on the stage”
Among the experts attending the summit are OKX Global Public Relations Manager Tim Byun, the doyen of the fintech industry The Financer CEO Chris Skinner, JP Morgan Digital Services Global Director Pınar Emirdağ, Airtm Strategy Director Lisa Nestor, Holochain Commercial Director David Atkinson, SWIFT Innovation Leader Nick Kerigan and Crypto Hub founder Nick Spanos. The event will also feature the success stories of women entrepreneurs and leaders who shape the financial ecosystem. The session to be held under the title of Women in Fintech Summit will feature names such as Unconventional Ventures Founder Theodora Lau, Stratyfy COO Deniz Johnson and Odgers Berndston Managing Partner Ayşe Öztuna Bozoklar. At the panel, the steps to be taken to increase the number of women managers in the sector and the experiences of women leaders will also be shared with the participants.
“It will also provide important opportunities for startups”
Stating that the summit has an important mission to contribute positively to the economy, Demet Zübeyiroğlu, Chairman of FINTR and Founding Partner of KOOP Ventures, said, “Thanks to our event, we bring together the leading names of the financial ecosystem every year. We see that the fintech industry has taken its place among the strong sectors in Turkey. In this context; We think that bringing international stakeholders together in Istanbul with such an organization is very valuable both for the development and globalization of the financial world and for Istanbul to become a center of attraction in the field of fintech. On the other hand, we believe that the event will provide important opportunities for Turkish startups to meet with global stakeholders and expand abroad. We are confident that all stakeholders will gain new perspectives thanks to the organization where experts will address important topics in the fintech ecosystem. We hope that the sessions, in which we expect a large participation, will be enjoyable and stimulating and lead to new collaborations this year," he said.
It is realized with the support of very valuable sponsors.
Global cryptocurrency exchange OKX will be the title sponsor of Istanbul Fintech Week, which will bring the world of finance together, while Odeabank, Payfix, Türkiye İş Bankası, United Payment and Yapı Kredi FFRWRD are Premium Sponsors; Aktif Bank C-Suite Sponsor; Esri Turkey, GarantiBBVA Payment Systems, İninal, Innova, Insha Ventures, KPMG, Mastercard, Odgers Berndston and Procenne will take place as Co-Sponsors. BloombergHT, Cointelegraph, Endless Fairs and Metafluence are also among the partners of the event.
“Pioneers of Digital Finance” Awards
On the other hand, the award ceremony of the “Pioneers of Digital Finance” program, which will be held in cooperation with KPMG and FINTR, will be held at Istanbul Fintech Week. At the ceremony, the awards will be given in 7 categories to the banks that develop innovative projects in the field of financial technologies and the fintech companies that are most open to globalization. The opening speech of the ceremony will be delivered by the Presidential Finance Office.