India FinTech Forum announces India FinTech Awards (IFTA) 2019

The event’s agenda consisted of innovative startup demos, panel discussions, fireside chats and keynote speakers. 23 fintech startups from the US, New Zealand, Hungary, Israel, Singapore and India that were shortlisted from 400+ applications presented presented their product innovations in front of a distinguished Panel of Judges. Valocity Global from New Zealand won the prestigious Fintech Startup of the Year trophy. As part of the award, Valocity Global will get an opportunity to be a part of Paris Fintech Forum, the most exclusive European event on digital finance.

Mumbai Fintech Hub, an initiative of the Government of Maharashtra was the Chief Strategic Partner. The Keynote Address was given by Ms. Suniti Nanda, Fintech Officer, Mumbai Fintech Hub and she spoke about Initiatives of Mumbai Fintech Hub. There was discussion on UPI roadmap, SME Digitization and Disruption Caused By Lending Fintechs In India By NPCI, Perfios and TransUnion CIBIL respectively. Two fintech reports were launched by The Digital Fifth on Middle East and Indian markets.

Sougata Basu, Founder, CashRich said that, “We were glad to be a part of IFTA 2019. The event was really engaging with discussions on payment, lending, wealth management, Open Banking, AI and Blockchain. It was a great experience to connect with fintech leaders from 20+ countries.”

Mr. Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL Bank and a member of the IFTA Panel of Judges said, “I was mighty impressed with the depth and the quality of young companies presenting at IFTA 2019. Fintech is now better understood and there’s always a risk that such events become a rehash of what worked yesterday. In that respect I would say that IFTA 2019 was very refreshing and it will make me want to come back for IFTA 2020.”

Harshil Mathur, CEO and Founder, Razorpay and winner of FinTech Leader of the Year 2019 at IFTA 2019 said, “Our technology and our team is what we trust in the most. This recognition by IFTA is a sign that our efforts in revolutionising the financial ecosystem are in the right direction. I would like to thank IFTA for a well-organised forum – it was a great evening and extend my congratulations to all the winners and participants”.

Carmen Vicelich, CEO & Founder of Valocity Global, said “Valocity Global had an incredible experience at the IFTA Awards.  Attending as a Fintech Finalist presented a great opportunity to demonstrate the Valocity platform to leading key lenders and participants in the banking ecosystem and the highlight was undoubtedly winning Fintech Start Up of the Year! Valocity Global was very impressed with the IFTA Forum by the breadth and depth of attendees and especially the wide range of innovative attendees coming from all over the globe. What a great opportunity to collaborate and network – we will definitely be back!”

Winners at IFTA 2019

IFTA Fintech Rising Stars:

The following three startups won the Fintech Rising Star trophies:

• CreditOn
• Neener Analytics
• Vested Finance

Category Award Winners at IFTA 2019:

• Best International Startup in India: AngelList India, India
• Best Global Fintech Hub: F10 Fintech Incubator and Accelerator, Switzerland
• Most Innovative Bank of the Year: Kotak Mahindra Bank, India
• Financial Inclusion Initiative of the Year: Stellapps, India
• Most Innovative Payment Startup: Razorpay, India
• Most Innovative Lending Startup:Paisabazaar.com, India
• Best AI Startup: CreditVidya, India
• Best Use of Blockchain in Financial Services: MyEarth.ID, India
• RegTech Startup of the Year: Nexus Asia, India
• Best Innovation in Wealth Management: smallcase Technologies, India
• Best Technology Company for Fintech Solutions: Synapse, USA
• Proptech Startup of the Year: NoBroker.com, India
• Most Innovative Fintech Product: Razorpay, India
• Woman Leader in Fintech: Mabel Chako, Co-founder and COO at Open Financial Technologies
• Fintech Leader of the Year: Harshil Mathur, CEO and Founder at Razorpay
• Fintech Rising Star: Neener Analytics, USA
• Fintech Rising Star: CreditOn, India
• Fintech Rising Star: Vested Finance, USA
• Fintech Scaleup of the Year: Indy, India
• Fintech Startup of the Year: Valocity Global, New Zealand

Mabel Chacko, Co-founder and COO at Open Financial Technologies won Woman Leader at IFTA 2019 said, “I am honoured to win the Woman Leader in Fintech award at IFTA 2019. A lot of great conversations happened during India FinTech Awards that brought together different perspectives on all the latest developments in fintech.”