Issue #393 - Business Partnerships & Inclusivity December 8th, 2022

Alibaba Cloud partners with the Avalanche blockchain to launch its Node-as-a-Service initiative. Avalanche users will be able to use the Alibaba Cloud infrastructure to launch new validator nodes. This could mean even more scalability for developers who choose to use Avalanche, which is already considered a possible Ethereum killer.

According to Jonathan Krane (KraneShares), the Chinese government won't introduce new regulations for the tech sector. Regulations introduced so far, according to Krane, increased the stability of the sector and created a strong environment for future developments.

Italy joins the European countries that are cashing in on crypto trading profits. This move comes after the choice of many crypto-related businesses to expand across Europe. To mention a few examples of top companies that chose to move into the European region: Bitpanda in Germany; Binance in Italy, France and Spain; Gemini in Greece and Italy.

Cyber attacks in Nigeria are rising. Mr. Musa Jimoh, the director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured stakeholders that the bank is addressing this major issue. The bank will continue cooperating with organizations that have the right technology to reduce these attacks, and Ade Bajomo, president of FinTech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR), also said that collaboration and information sharing are pivotal.

Even if banks and fintech companies are increasingly partnering to create new financial solutions, there are still risks that could threaten further cooperation. These risks are mainly related to money laundering, security, accountability expectations, the challenges that the fintech sector is facing, and the future of regulation.

Ualà, the Argentina-based fintech company backed by financial personalities like George Soros, will start offering loans to Mexican clients thanks to Ualà's partnership with the Mexican bank ABC Capital.

According to data shared by Dealroom, London is one of the top countries to attract fintech investments. Since the beginning of 2022, the city has attracted over $9 billion in capital, more than the investments attracted by cities like New York and San Francisco.

Even if African fintech is still a young sector, it proved to be successful in terms of investments. For 2023, the BDO Fintech In Africa report identifies five trends: a stronger focus on unbanked people, higher investments, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), cryptocurrencies, emerging technologies.

Fintech plays a major role in financial inclusivity not only by providing the tools to allow people to have easier access to financial services, but also by improving their financial security by debt reduction, easy cash out, and more payment methods.

Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, which has already invested in top companies like Qonto, Bitpanda, N26, is one of the top investors behind TreeCard. Founded in 2020 by Jamie Cox, TreeCard is a digital money app focused on sustainable finance. The debit card the fintech company offers is made from wood, and the firm uses most of the card fees to plant trees in partnership with Ecosia.