In this episode of The Connector Podcast recorded live at the DFS Digital Finance Summit in Brussels, host Koen Vanderhoydonk interviews Laure Klinkemaï, senior trade advisor at the British Embassy in Brussels. Laure explains her role in the Department for Business and Trade, helping UK fintech firms export to Belgium and connecting Belgian stakeholders with UK technology. She outlines the UK fintech pavilion’s five showcased companies—Blink Parametric (insurtech), Ankerpass/Compass (KYC), MDUTM (generative AI for finance), Flexys (debt‑management SaaS), and Pitilia (compliance SaaS)—highlighting the sector’s breadth. Laure provides data on the UK fintech ecosystem: 27 fintech unicorns, £11 billion annual economic contribution, roughly 2,500 firms, and £5 billion raised, emphasizing its vibrancy and regional diversity across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The conversation explores the UK‑Belgium relationship, positioning the UK as an innovation hub and a gateway to broader markets, while Belgium serves as a strategic entry point for continental Europe. She mentions an investment colleague, Elias Seliman, who offers support for Belgian firms looking to expand into the UK. Practical outreach channels are shared: the DFS stand, LinkedIn profiles (Laure Klinkemaï and the British Embassy Brussels page), and the embassy’s event communications. The interview underscores the mutual interest between the two ecosystems and the bridge‑building mission of the embassy.
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Welcome to the Connector Podcast, an ongoing conversation connecting fintechs, banks, and regulators worldwide. Join CEO and founder Koen Vanderhoydonk as you learn more about the latest available trends and solutions in the markets.
Welcome to another podcast live from DFS here in Brussels, and I've got with me Lor, And Laura is from the British Embassy, and it's not the first time that you're in this podcast.
No. Hi, everybody. It's actually my second time here. I'm really happy to to be back. So for those that did not listen to to my podcast of last year, so my name is Laura Hindin Lachlinke Mai, senior trade advisor at the British Embassy in Brussels.
And can you tell us a little bit what brings you here and what what do you guys do in the fintech industry?
Definitely. So perhaps just. To bring a bit of context about my role.
Yes, please.
So I said I'm part of the Department for Business and Trade. So my role as trade advisor is really to help and support UK tech companies that want to export to Belgium, but also Belgian stakeholders that would be looking for UK tech. So we're present at DFS for the second time with a country pavilion with 5 different—
It's quite big actually.
It's quite big, yeah. It's a really beautiful stand as well, so feel free to come and say hi.
I agree.
Yeah, thank you. We have 5 different UK fintechs present this year, just as last year actually. So pretty happy about this.
So now I'm very curious to learn a little bit who did you bring this year?
Yeah, so the 5 companies all come from different sides of the fintech world because obviously fintech is quite a broad sector. So we try to be diverse. So we have Blink Parametric, Ankerpass Corporation, Flexys, MDUTM, and Pitilia. So Blink Parametric is more into the insurtech side. So they transform traditional insurance offerings into service experiences. And Compass is more into the KYC side. So they enable fast, accurate identity validation and verification of customers.
Mm-hmm.
Then we have MDUTM, which is more into the generative and analytical AI side of things for the financial sector. So very topical. And then we have 2 SaaS companies. We have Flexis, which is more into the debt management and collection software. And we've got Pitilia, which is more into direct tech and compliance.
So you were not lying. It's literally a variety of fintechs that you bring.
Yeah, but the UK fintech sector is really, really active and really diverse. So it's actually— I'm really happy to be able to represent that today with our different companies.
And Can you shed us a little bit of a light when you say it's quite active? What does that mean? What does that encompass?
Yeah, so the UK, well, the UK is not only London to begin with. It's just a very, you know, big country with a lot of different companies. So for example, we have 27 fintech unicorns, which is quite big. I think in Belgium now there are 5 unicorns, but obviously the UK is a much bigger country than Belgium is.
We're the runner-up.
Yeah. But then the sector of fintech contributes to around £11 billion to the economy, which is quite big as well. And you've got this really vibrant ecosystem of companies all over the UK, like in Scotland, in London, in Wales. And every region has a bit of its own, you know, specialty as well. But it's really nice. And you can also see that on our pavilions. We have companies coming from London or England, but you also have a Scottish company, you've got a Northern Irish company. So we've got a bit of variety to really represent this diversity that exists in the UK.
So it's literally the United Kingdom of fintech.
Yes, that's it.
And what brings you actually to DFS?
So really our goal today is, well, first of all, is to give those companies the opportunity to showcase their solutions, but also I see my role as a— perhaps it's arrogant to say this, but as a bridge builder.
I like that. I'm the connector too. So we have something in common. That's fine.
It's really to bring together the Belgium and UK ecosystem, to bring people together. So we wanted to represent, as I said, this diversity and this innovation that exists in the UK, to bring it to Belgium, to showcase it to Belgian stakeholders, but also for those companies to meet the Belgian fintech ecosystem, which is also really alive. As we can see here today at DFS, and you know we really want to have a win-win situation. So to to you know bring innovation and bring people together is is really the goal today. And we also have an investment angle. So we have a colleague who is there, Elias, who will be present at the international stage later on today that will really you know present to to the Belgian audience what is the UK, what is the UK fintech ecosystem. And if you want to grow in the UK, what are the next steps and how can we support you?
But unfortunately, I do not have him in my podcast now, so I'll ask you the question. So what is it actually on UK? What is happening and has it changed over the years?
No, I don't think so. I think the, as I said, the UK ecosystem, fintech ecosystem is really vibrant, really vivid. In terms of Belgium, UK, we can see that At least from my end, I see that on the Belgian end, people are still really interested in the UK. They see the UK as a fintech innovation hub. And same for the UK. Well, the fact that we already have 5 companies this year and last year coming to Belgium is really a sign that Belgium is really an important market for them. We had really good interest, and that's actually really, really good. And we see it also in my day-to-day job outside of DFS that There is a lot of interest from the UK to explore the Belgian market and to get connected and get to know more.
I think what I see is, out of experience, is that a lot of companies out of the UK, they are interested also to land in continental Europe. And would you then see that Belgium is a bridge to that, or?
That's a good question. I think that's more of a question for my colleague from AIXFIT and Hub Brussels, because I do cover, as I said, the UK companies wanting to export export to Belgium, so not the lending part, but my role is kind of similar to those trade and investment agencies here in Belgium. So, but my colleague Elias is helping Belgian companies that want to set up or just grow in the UK, but we do work quite closely with the agencies.
Yeah, I can imagine. But maybe a little bit about the why. Why should a continental Europe company actually go to the UK market?
Well, as I said, it's a vibrant ecosystem, so you've got a lot of opportunities there in the UK. I think companies, fintech companies, have raised around, I think, £5 billion in total, which is quite a nice amount. There is around 2,500 fintech companies in the UK, so it's a much bigger ecosystem than Belgium, but That well, that can be also explained by by the size of it. But I think there is a lot of opportunities in the UK, and that can be also a gateway to other markets, such as Belgium is for perhaps continental Europe. But the UK can be you know a gateway to to other markets, such as the US or any things like this. So yeah, but if you have any questions on why the UK and why you should go to the UK, I would advise you to. first to reach out to my colleague Elias, Elias Seliman, from the investment team, or to listen to his presentation later on today.
No, that's a good tip. Maybe a little bit on UK as a market, because you mentioned a lot it's a vivid fintech ecosystem, but is it also because demand-supply? So there's also A larger demand from the banking industry?
I think. Do you mean from Belgium?
No, within the UK. So on the local market, are they? I mean, traditionally there are a lot of banks in the UK.
Yeah.
And it's a very mature market in terms of banking landscape.
Yeah, I think. I think that perhaps can be explained by this as well, and also by all the you know different ecosystem, different hub, different. associations that are there to help companies out there in the UK that can be explained that the ecosystem is quite alive and kicking.
Alive and kicking, I like that, I like that. When people want to see you alive and kicking, Laure, how do they— how can they find you?
Yeah, well, if you're here at DeFi Summit today, you can just come and say hi at the stand.
To the Nice booth.
Yeah, to the Nice booth. It's a really pretty one, I must say, not To brag about it, but it's really nice. Otherwise, you can there are different ways to reach us. You can either reach out to me on LinkedIn, Laure Klinkemaï, or also reach out to our LinkedIn embassy channel. So it's just British Embassy Brussels. It's really simple. We do put quite a lot of information on there. So if you're interested about upcoming events, upcoming things we are planning in the you know in the tech ecosystem. You can also see more information on there, but otherwise just feel free to reach out. We're happy to get in touch with you and to discuss and see how we can support both from the trade or the investment perspective.
Thank you very much for having you in this podcast.
And thank you very much for having me.
And have a pleasant stay here at DFS.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you also to the audience, and please stay tuned. More news coming from DFS. Thank you very much.
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