Business

FinTech, a contraction of Financial Technology, has become an increasingly “hot” sector among policy makers and investors across the globe. This growing sector has attracted investments at an estimated USD 12.2 billion globally in 2014 as well as interest in a number of regional hubs: Silicon Valley, New York, London, Stockholm, and Australia. Stockholm, similar to many other regional financial hubs, has seen considerable investment and activity in this sector. For example, in 2014 alone 15 FinTech deals attracted USD 266 million in investments, accounting for a remarkable 18 percent of the total USD 1.5 billion FinTech investments across Europe, as well as 32 percent of Sweden’s total USD 826 million in investments in private companies. Furthermore, looking historically across the EU, Stockholm comprises 18.3 percent of the past five year and 15.9 percent of the past 11 year (as far back as there are accessible statistics) total EU FinTech investments, putting Stockholm as the second highest funded city in the EU in the past 10 years, second only to London and solidly ahead of the third place city Amsterdam. This report looks into this activity and paints a picture of the FinTech investments and activities in the Stockholm region during the past five years and discusses some of the drivers and limitations in this burgeoning sector.