fintech digest
SMEs’ Access to Finance, Payments Are Still Hot, Job Cuts For Fintech, DeFi Lending Losers & More
Research Team
24 January 2023
Improving SMEs’ access to finance and finding innovative solutions to unlock sources of capital
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries. SMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development. They represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide.
Payments remain the darling of the fintech space
Payments remains the segment leading in total funding and deals in the fourth quarter of 2022. About $3.4 billion was raised across 188 deals in the payments space in Q4 — nearly double the $1.8 billion raised across 62 deals by banking startups in the same three-month period. With more businesses and consumers opting to pay for things digitally, even in a post-pandemic world, this is hardly surprising.
Lending fintech company makes job cuts to workforce amid falling demand
Fintech LendingClub has cut its workforce by 14% as high interest rates stifle demand for its lending services. This is the second round of major cuts for the established peer-to-peer (P2P) lending fintech, which was set up in the US in 2007. In 2020, when faced by a slowdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, it cut its workforce by 460, about one-third of its total workforce, and announced temporary pay cuts for senior executives.
The top five Decentralised Finance lenders: Then and now
In the lending sector of DeFi, a lot has changed during the last 12 months as lending applications like Terra’s Anchor Protocol bit the dust, and 72% of the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi lending protocols evaporated.
Nikita Fadeev, Partner at Fasanara, speaks with David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group
Nikita Fadeev, Parter and Head of Fasanara Digital, speaks with David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, the leading operator of institutional FX and crypto currency execution venues. Following a successful management buyout, David has built LMAX Group into a key player in both the traditional capital markets and the crypto trading industry.