The CXO (CEOs) roundtable and the first round of the ‘$1 Million Fintech Challenge Startup Competition’ held in Chicago on Saturday marked the launch of the overseas roadshows to attract good participation in the weeklong Vizag Fintech Festival (VFF), scheduled to be held between October 22 and 26.
“The response was overwhelming. Many wanted to know about Visakhapatnam and the ecosystem available in the city for investments in fintech,” Special Chief Secretary and IT Adviser J.A. Chowdary told The Hindu on phone from Chicago.
The next round will be conducted in New York, the world’s leading fintech destination on September 11 followed by another event in San Francisco (SFO) on September 13.
In all, the competition to attract global participation is being conducted at eight destinations spread over Tel Aviv, Paris, London, Hong Kong and Bengaluru.
Mr. Chowdary said more than 100 CEOs attended the Chicago event lasted till late in the night. They evinced keen interest to know how the Andhra Pradesh Government was promoting Fintech Valley in Vizag to create a comprehensive sustainable ecosystem.
Visakhapatnam has already attracted investments from Franklin Templeton, Conduent and Paytm and many more are lined up to start their operations. HSBC, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, IBM, Concentrix, WNS, Patra India and other firms have their operations in the city.
Several stakeholders from Indian fintech community will attend the VFF being conducted at Hotel Novotel. Representatives from the industry, academia and investors will be involved to co-create the ecosystem.
‘Demo Day’ on Oct. 22
Twenty five finalists from around the world would pitch their ideas at the ‘Demo Day’ to be conducted on October 22.