Since we missed it, we are hoping you don’t! We’d like to thank Rob Findlay, CEO of Next Bank and Markus Gnirck, COO of Startupbootcamp for the amazing list and article on the people shaping finance across the Asian region in 2016 and beyond. We salute these inspirational leaders and innovators!

Asia’s next generation of emerging fintech leaders need to step up now! The Fintech Asia Top 100 List

Most global fintech lists are too US or Europe centric. We thought it was time to change that. There are recognised leaders from every corner of the region that we know are doing great work – from Simone McCallum at ASB Bank in New Zealand to Shikha Sharma at Axis Bank in India; John Owens at USAID in the Philippines to Melissa Guzy at Arbor Ventures in Hong Kong.

The Fintech Asia 100 is a great list, and is the first of its kind for Asia. We selected the people we admired, and that represent the many pockets and facets of the industry – not just the most senior bankers, and not just the rockstar startups. There are many people working behind the scenes or fanfare, or in adjacent roles and businesses helping the industry to grow.

Given the pace of growth of fintech in the region, these people have been instrumental in both their pioneering work and ongoing thought leadership. This is not a ranking – no one person is really better than the next – more a collection of peers that we think are doing great work for the Asian region.

The listed people offer a cross section of the talent we have in the region, and the way in which they have come to their positions of influence. We need them all to be an ongoing part of our industry here in Asia.

The Asian banking community could very easily allow these few people to do all the heavy lifting in re-envisioning the future. Stand up, get involved, get active.

But it’s time for the rest of us to really step up. It’s time for Asia’s emerging fintech leaders to step forward and play very positive roles in making finance better for consumers, businesses and economies.

This will take the hard work of many to embrace the fintech future we all face, understand their roles and see the opportunities, then make a commitment to build better solutions to the many problems or legacies the industry has.

I’d like to see the 35 year old experienced banker start the business he’s always thought might work; I’d like to see the 55 year old senior banker mentor the young fintech entrepreneurs building new ideas. I’d like to see the typical VC tech investor deep dive into fintech specifically, and see how she can pick the right investments. I’d like to see government leaders follow the lead of Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney and create open, interactive communities and policies to allow fintech to flourish. We should see more females in pure fintech roles and startups too.

The more we all stand up, the faster we can progress towards a really exciting fintech future.
The Fintech Asia Top 100 List

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