All the submissions for FinTech Intel’s Europe FinTech Awards 2023 have been submitted and the independent panel of judges are now busy looking through them to find the cream of the crop.
While all information is confidential, we can share some anonymised data to show the strength of the European fintech sector.
We have broken down the fintechs that have entered the Europe FinTech Awards, into funding stage, how much funding they have received since founding and the number of employees.
Most of the entries came from organisations that are either in the seed or series A funding level, with fewer in series B, C, D and E. A trend that we also saw with this year’s UK FinTech Awards.
It’s exciting to see, despite the recent drop in fintech funding and the financial crisis involving Europe’s own Credit Suisse, that so many up-and-coming fintechs are still out there.
The vast majority of organisations to enter the Europe FinTech Awards 2023 have also received less than £10m in funding since founding.
This is perhaps what you would expect, as most of the fintechs are in the early stages of growth.
However, our data does suggest that there are many fintechs with good ideas that investors think will be profitable.
There was also a handful of fintechs that received between £10-50m, and a significant number that received more than £50m, showing there are some well-funded companies competing against these startups.
It will be interesting to see how these newer fintechs fare against some of their more affluent competitors.
Almost half of the fintechs to enter the Europe FinTech Awards have fewer than 50 employees and more than a third employ between 51 and 250, which leaves only a small percentage of those that employ more than 250, including a few with a 1,000-plus.
This is again no surprise, as many of the fintechs are in the early stages of development. And even large fintechs have been laying-off workers amid the ongoing difficulties in the wider tech sector.
This data suggests that most of the entrants are early stage fintechs and that the European fintech community—as of our entry deadline of 31 March, at least—is still receiving interest from investors.
We can look forward to tracking their progress into the future, to see how many are still having a big impact in the years to come.
Winning one of our awards is a good benchmark for a bright future. It could signify a breakout moment for a fintech, or suggest they are ripe for further investment and growth.
But, out of the many entries that we have had, there can only be 22 winners.
Our expert judges will whittle down the entries to a shortlist to be announced in May. The winners will be announced on 22 June at a prestigious ceremony in London.
Does your company have a presence in Asia? If so, the Asia FinTech Awards 2023 is open to submissions.
