Singapore-based Lattice80, which claims to be the world’s largest FinTech Hub and prides itself on creating an ecosystem for FinTech startups to collaborate, connect and co-create, is now coming to India. Expected to go live by next month, the Indian office is a part of the firm's global expansion plans.

The fintech hub is contemplating opening the office in Visakhapatnam and is currently in the midst of negotiations with 30 tenants for the 30,000 square-foot space, which is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Bengaluru, India's IT capital, revealed Joe Seunghyun Cho, CEO, Lattice80 in an interview to Bloomberg. The hub will be able to host as many as 100 tech startups at a time.

In the interview, Cho also revealed the reason behind his firm's interest in India. According to him, the exceptional pool of engineers available in the country is what primarily attracted the fintech hub to have a office in the country. Further, when this pool is combined with low labor costs available in the country, India becomes one of the best places on the planet to make tech resources.

Starting its journey in the heart of Singapore in November last year, the hub has grown to provide office space and infrastructure to 85 startups in Singapore in such a short interval of time.

In March, we had reported how Marvelstone Group, which is the private investment group behind Lattice80, had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to open the first Lattice80 office outside of Singapore. Considering the fact that within 4 months of signing the MoU, the Indian office is ready to open its doors next month, one can vouch for Lattice80's punctuality and seriousness for the Indian fintech market.

According to the Singapore-based fintech hub, India’s Fintech market is forecast to be worth US$2.4 billion by the year 2020, a figure which is a two-fold increase on the market size in 2016.

Commenting on the MoU signed back then, J A Chowdary, special adviser to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on IT had said that the MoU isn't an effort towards just promoting Fintech ecosystem in the country, but a step towards encouraging and developing a whole Fintech culture of its own.

According to Cho, some of the firms that will take space in its Visakhapatnam office are already operating in the Singapore hub and are seeking to expand their operations overseas. Some of the startups that are part of the Singapore hub and have confirmed to come to India include robo-advisers Bambu and Smartfolios, and Miss Kaya, an online bank for women.

In addition to India, the company is planning to have a presence in the Middle East this year, then open branches in London, New York and Silicon Valley by next year.
Advertisements

Post a Comment

أحدث أقدم
Like this content? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get latest updates.