Laure Klinkemaï from the British Embassy in Brussels discusses five UK fintech companies at the Digital Finance Summit: Casco, Simodyne, Lepervis, Spixi, and Panovate. The UK has roughly 3,500 fintech firms versus Belgium's 130-member network, and cybersecurity companies are increasingly seeking Belgian partnerships.
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Welcome to another episode of our podcast done by us, the Connector, but also FinTech Belgium live at DFS here in Brussels. And with me, I have Laure. Laure is working for the British Embassy in Brussels. So can you explain us what does the British Embassy do in Brussels?
Sure. So first of all, hi everybody. So indeed, my name is Laure, Laure Klinkemaï. So I'm a senior trade advisor at the British Embassy in Brussels. And within the embassy, I'm actually part of the department for for business and trade. So this department is made of 2 sub-teams. So one FDI, so one helping Belgian companies who are looking to scale up into the UK, and one trade side, which I'm part of, helping UK companies export to Belgium. And that's the reason why we're here today with 5 UK companies.
So I've heard, so I've heard.
Yeah, you could just come say hi at our booth. So we are here with 5 fintechs, all coming from different subsectors of the fintech field. So we've got a cyber company, we've got a data analytics company, AI, insurtech, a bit for everyone, I would say.
Would you mind maybe to explain us in a couple of words what are these companies doing?
Sure. So the 5 companies are Casco, Simodyne, Spixi, Panovate, and Lepervis. So in a nutshell, Casco provides insurtech as a service. So they enable insurers, banks, or other large distributors to set up digital insurance schemes. Simudan is more providing agent-based model simulations. So they, they provide simulations to enterprise companies, to market simulators, that kind of thing. Lipovis is a cybersecurity company. You might have heard them this morning because they were pitching during the startup competition. So what they do, so they provide dynamic deception, they provision dynamic deception environments, sorry.
That's a lot.
Yeah, and basically they find the threats that are going on. Very interesting as well. Then we've got Speeksy, which is a conversational process automation platform, enable financial services companies, so banks, insurance companies, To offer 24/7 service to their customers through chatbots, and then we've got finally Panovate, which is a company that offers a range of different innovative products, among which Silo, which is how to say it is a smart middleware providing AI-assisted logic but also security at the same time. So we're here with five of them today. They are all eager to talk to to the Belgian. Fintech ecosystems, or come say hi, I would say.
I think that's what everyone needs to do, and I'm glad that you just give a sort of high-level view what they do. But in all honesty, what are the companies looking for when they come here?
So I think the first point to come to DFS for these companies is to meet the Belgian fintech ecosystem, so to build relationships, to see who are the players out here, and really create connections and relationships. So they're mostly looking for partners and for clients. But I think the main point of DFS is really building the bridge between the UK fintech scene and the Belgian fintech scene. And I think that's mainly their goal.
Well, interesting. I think then they are at the right place here at DFS. When people talk about UK, then obviously immediately you make the reflection like UK is and has been the fintech hub for Europe for such a long time. Do you think that statement is still right? And do you feel this is changing or maybe not?
Yeah, the fintech scene in the UK is very vibrant and very alive. So, to give you a couple of numbers, perhaps to say that the sector itself contributed to 11 million pound, a billion pound to the economy in 2022, which is quite significant amount.
That's a lot of money.
Also, perhaps to put things into perspective between the UK and Belgium. So in the UK, there is an excess of 3,500 fintech companies, whereas I think Fintech Belgium has 130 members. Obviously, you can't really compare it because the UK is a much larger territory than Belgium is. I think 6 times larger. But still gives you a flavor that the fintech scene there is still very much vibrant, still very much alive, has a lot to offer to European companies that want to go there. Yeah.
Is it still focused a lot around the city, City of London?
I mean, obviously London is an important fintech hub, but the UK is not only London. So we've got For example, Wales, which is a very important cyber— I mean, who specializes in cyber and AI. Northern Ireland as well. Scotland is also a very important fintech hub. So you've got the whole of the UK. Also, if you have any question on this, for those who are present at the FS today, my colleague Elias Suleiman, Senior Investment Advisor, has given a brilliant talk this this morning about the UK fintech ecosystem. So if you have any question, I think it will be— the presentation will be uploaded on the Fintech Belgium website.
Laure, I was wondering, did you see the market, especially in fintech, changing in London, UK?
So as already mentioned before, so the scene is still— was and still is very much vibrant in the UK regarding fintech, but Tech in general, I would say. But I must say that, well, I've started this position as a tech trade advisor around two years ago, a bit more, two years and a half. And for example, this year for DFS, when I was you know doing the call for applications in the UK for UK companies to come over, I had quite. I mean, we had quite a. Large turnout of an interest from UK companies to come over for the Digital Finance Summit, which I believe is very positive.
Absolutely.
Really shows that there is interest in the UK regarding the Belgian market, and I believe also vice versa. So yeah, I would say it was still— I mean, it was great and it's still great, but personally speaking, I've seen even more interest this year.
Why do UK companies like continental Europe as a go-to place?
So, obviously in my role I only cover Belgium, so cover export to Belgium, but I think Europe has a lot to offer to UK companies. And perhaps just to speak about Belgium, there is an interest in Belgium because Well, Belgium is at the heart of Europe. We're very close to other markets, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxembourg. So, there is an interest from UK companies to export and trade with Belgium. Yeah.
Well, you brought a variety of fintechs to us here in Brussels. Do you see any trends on a general level, like what type of fintechs that you see most within the UK market?
So perhaps to answer your question, I think the UK market and the UK offering in tech companies is very broad. So we have, and I will refer back to the presentation of my colleague Elias, but we've got a couple of regions specializing in different kind of tech. More cyber in Wales. I mean, Scotland is also a very big important fintech hub after London, I believe. So you've got a lot of variety. So it's hard for me to say, to pinpoint that I see a lot of fintech.
But if you have to choose something, which one would it be?
I would perhaps say cyber, if I must say, because obviously it's a very subjective thing, but it's more what I see the most in my job from UK companies interested in Belgium.
Fair enough. We're at the end of this podcast, and Laura, it was really nice to have you here. I'm sure that—
it was a pleasure for me too.
Oh, great. I'm sure people are very keen to know how to get in touch with you and the embassy here in Brussels.
Yes. So for people present today at DFS, I would just encourage you to not be shy and just come say hi. So you can either talk to me, either come talk to the companies or to my AFDI colleagues who are present as well today.
Mm-hmm.
Otherwise, you can, as already mentioned, look up the presentation that has been done. You can find the contact details of my AFDI colleague on this as well. And then finally, I will encourage you to get in touch after the conference if you have any interest in the UK. If you're a Belgian company looking to scale there, or if you're interested in the UK tech offering.
So not Christmas shopping in London?
No, unfortunately. But I will encourage you as well to go follow our LinkedIn page. So very simple, @BritishAmbassyBrussels. So on this page, we post a lot about what we're doing and about the upcoming events that we're We're planning, so please just follow and get in touch.
I hope many of us will do. I will surely do so. Lord, thank you very much. Thank you also to the audience and stay tuned for more news.
Thank you very much. Have a nice day, everyone.
Thank you. Bye-bye.
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