Mumbai Thrives to Become the FinTech Hub Government of Maharashtra is directing all efforts towards achieving the vision
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The world is adopting the digital-first culture and India cannot afford to stay behind in the game. The explosion of a startup in the country has opened tons of opportunities for economic growth. FinTech is an important marker of digital progress & Mumbai being one of India's primary economic hubs with a total wealth of $820 billion has the maximum potential to flourish in the space.
Earlier state governments had been criticized for not taking many efforts for the growth of the economy or providing a conducive environment for startups to mushroom. Mumbai is the gateway to India's growing economy. Understanding the onus, the government of Maharashtra has been making significant efforts to make Mumbai home to a thriving FinTech ecosystem.
As Maharashtra's Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis has graciously put it that to "Foster next-generation innovation across the financial services ecosystem to nurture exceptional FinTech firms that enable financial empowerment and technological advancement," the state launched Mumbai Fintech Hub, a program launched to "Make Mumbai one of the Global Fintech Hubs".
Why Mumbai?
Being the Economic Capital of India, Mumbai houses major Indian companies like Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group and Godrej Group along with the official headquarters of leading financial institutions and regulatory bodies including Reserve Bank of India, National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, making it a suitable place for fintech startups to set shops in.
Presence of world-class educational institutions contributes to the large and diverse talent pool, which the startups can leverage. Interestingly, not only 42 per cent of the top 50 FinTech startups are based in Mumbai but 30 per cent of FinTech funding in India is raised by Mumbai-based startups. The city has the highest FDI inflow in India with a staggering US$ 114 billion received between 2000-2018.
Commenting the high potential the city possesses with respect to the scope of the startup ecosystem, S V R Srinivas, the Principal Secretary IT & Chairman of MahaIT stated, "Mumbai has been a financial capital all along. We are aiming to make it a Global FinTech capital soon. The FinTech policy has been operationalized to activate the startup ecosystem. It's time for the startups to lead and the government is right behind to support."
Progress So Far
Government's backing has worked wonders for the Mumbai-based startups. Notably, Maharashtra is the first state to have a State FinTech policy, under which an INR 250 crore FinTech corpus will be created over the next three years. It will be used to build co-working spaces, provide incentive funds worth INR 30 crore and INR 10 lakh annual reimbursement per startup for internet expenses, electricity and infrastructure charges.
Established in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as a focal point for FinTech activity within the State of Maharashtra, "Mumbai FinTech Hub" provides an ecosystem encompassing the entire infrastructure, organizations and people within the hub, as well as how those elements are structured and engage with each other to nurture innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.
"1-year journey of Mumbai FinTech Hub has been a story of contemplation, commitment and collaboration. We along with our partners look forward to one vision - to make Mumbai a Global in Tech Hub. We aim to create a thriving ecosystem in India where every FinTech innovation will sustain and growth will be a synonym for existence," Suniti Nanda, CFO (Chief Fintech Officer) for the Government of Maharashtra boasted.
