Singapore based fintech investment platform Fundnel establishes Australian headquarters in Adelaide
Singapore fintech investment portal Fundnel will establish an Australian headquarters in Adelaide. The private investment platform, which has helped investors invest $75 million in businesses since it launched two years ago, will work with Adelaide University’s Thinc-Lab incubator, Health SA, TechinSA and InvestSA to connect Australian investors with local opportunities to accelerate growth. The Australian operations will be headed by Dr Steven Fang, co-founder and former chief executive of Singaporean-based CapBridge. He has more than 28 years of experience in the private and public investment sectors. He will be supported by a local team of business development specialists and core members of the Fundnel team. “I’m excited to be on […]
Privacy fears fuel a fintech pioneer
A rebellion is stirring against our digital overlords, as seed and venture capital investors place bets on new business models that feed on privacy concerns in the post-Snowden era. Perversely, large-scale data breaches only benefit fintech companies like the Stone & Chalk resident Meeco, which aims to disrupt the likes of Google and Facebook by enabling consumers to regain control of their personal data and turn it into a valuable asset. Until about five years ago, Meeco founder and chief executive Katryna Dow’s privacy mission was falling on deaf ears — she was out of step with a seemingly manic desire by people to share everything online. In 2013, a […]
Re-listed fintech hopeful comes back to the market after merger
ASX investors reacted positively when the newly minted post-merger Afterpay Touch Group hit the ASX boards last Thursday, pushing the stock 8 per cent higher on its first trading day. The listing is a result of the combination of two digital payment companies: Afterpay and Touchcorp. Australia has a long way to go to catch up to its global counterparts when it comes to technology and innovation. According to a 2015 study on global innovation Australia ranked 17th in the world, well behind the US, Germany or the UK. More importantly, “the lucky country” also lagged regional counterparts Singapore, South Korea and our neighbour New Zealand. Despite its impact, information […]
Lendi breaks the fintech mould
It’s arguably one of the oldest fintech start-ups in Australia and is now likely to play an important role in guiding the fortunes of Fairfax’s real estate business Domain. However, Sydney-based Lendi isn’t keen on the oft-repeated disrupter tag. Company co-founder and managing director David Hyman told The Australian the idea behind the start-up was to untangle the vast volume of data home buyers have at their fingertips when it comes to getting a mortgage. According to Mr Hyman, while there’s a lot of information out there for existing and aspiring home owners the overall process of getting a mortgage remains grossly overcomplicated. “The experience is poor,” Mr Hyman said. […]
DomaCom reaches crowdfunded property deal
DomaCom has signed an agreement with a property developer to help launch a residential community land project in regional Victoria. The deal with Akuna Lifestyle Estates will involve a $6 million capital raising comprising $1.65 million to acquire the land and $4.35 million for development planning, approvals and construction of the civil works, and common facilities including a clubhouse, sports centre, pool and bowling green, according to a statement. The Cobram-based project is planned to be developed and sold in eight stages over three to four years, starting this year. DomaCom said it will use its fractional property investment platform to offer an attractive yield to investors for acquisition and […]
Disruptive big data company Quantexa furthers global expansion
Quantexa, the disruptive big data and analytics company backed by HSBC and Albion Ventures, has furthered its international expansion by opening a new office in Sydney, Australia. This builds upon their accelerated growth this year, which has seen the opening of their Brussels office in April and the doubling in size of their Global Headquarters in London. Following on from their $3.3m fund raising earlier this year, Quantexa’s expansion reflects a growing customer base outside the UK. The Sydney office will put the company in closer proximity to its clients in APAC and forms part of its aggressive international growth plans. Quantexa can already boast an impressive client list that […]
Australian fintechs must set sights on Asia: MoneyMe
Consumer fintech, MoneyMe Financial Group, believes the next surge of global fintech growth will be led by Asian markets after a temporary global plateau, as a result of greater market demand and more underbanked citizens, increasing income levels, advanced tech capabilities, and superior tax structures for innovative businesses. Australian fintechs who don’t include Asia in their growth strategies, both in terms of target markets and location of operations, risk falling behind and missing the next wave of fintech as a result of our far higher corporate tax rates, and the comparatively higher quality of our financial services which drive down the urgency for local innovation. This comes off […]
Super-fast, safe blockchain technology being developed at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney researchers are building a new super-fast, safe blockchain technology that has the potential to revolutionise the global economy. Best known as the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is a digital public ledger where transactions are recorded and confirmed pseudonymously. Named the ‘Red Belly Blockchain’, the new system being developed by the University of Sydney’s School of Information Technologies will allow secure and almost instantaneous digital transfer of virtual currencies across the world. “In recent testing, our blockchain achieved the best performance we have seen so far – with more than 440,000 transactions per second on 100 machines. In comparison, VISA’s network has a […]
