Verafin Deal Puts Atlantic Canada On The Global Fintech Map. Now What?
Alicia Ismach has worked in the global financial technology (fintech) industry for more than 18 years. She is the Entrepreneur in Residence at Venn Innovation in Moncton with a focus on developing the fintech sector in Atlantic Canada. Alicia will be the featured guest on the next Huddle “Home Office” podcast.
With the announcement of Verafin’s $2.75-billion (U.S.) acquisition by Nasdaq hitting the global news, Atlantic Canada wakes to a new day for its fintech sector. The remarkable multibillion-dollar cash acquisition follows Verafin’s record-breaking investment round of $550-million (Canadian) in 2019.
Undoubtedly, the deal will impact St. John’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystems, and it also has the potential to create a longstanding effect on Atlantic Canada’s fintech sector, bringing visibility into the growing number of companies digitalizing the financial industry in the region.
In Atlantic Canada, we have seen the challenges of Covid-19 from an economic standpoint; thankfully, to date, the tech sector has been strong. The fintech sector in the region has shown incredible resilience during this crisis, with companies raising funding rounds from global investors (Oliver POS), companies being acquired (Wagepoint, SalesRight), as well as companies establishing global partnerships with top corporations (SnapAP).
All of these companies are operating at a key inflection point in their growth: they are at the forefront of the digitalization of the financial industry, and they are the tip of the iceberg in Atlantic Canada.
The region’s strength in fintech, however, has been mostly overlooked by industry experts and publications from within Canada as well as from abroad. Companies launching solutions in the region do not benefit from the early recognition that others gain in regions with a more establish fintech sector; they are growing with less access to capital and weaker links to industry networks.
Verafin’s successful growth is laying a path, among other dynamics, that will create opportunities for better connected, global networks, where we can grow more significant companies here in Atlantic Canada.
For the last two years, Venn Innovation has been working to connect the fintech sector, its companies, and the Atlantic ecosystem, to global fintech networks and opportunities. In that time, we have identified well over 100 companies in the region that are developing technologies and solutions for this industry, and many others that would benefit from fintech strategies within their current businesses, when provided with the right support.
This acquisition demonstrates what was known to many in the region but too few in other places: Atlantic Canada is home to a young, vibrant fintech sector that is growing global leaders. Fintech founders in the region now have an inspiring role model proving that they don’t need to leave Atlantic Canada to succeed globally.
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