NEW DELHI: Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) said it has collaborated with the BIL Ryerson Technology Startups Incubator Foundation (BRTSIF) to accelerate fintech innovation.
GIFT City is India's first smart city and international financial services centre (IFSC), and BRTSIF is a joint venture among BSE Institute Mumbai, Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University, Canada.
As part of the collaboration, Zone Startups India, a part of BRTSIF, will explore avenues to set up and promote a fintech hub in GIFT SEZ, according to a statement by GIFT City.
It will further lay down the foundation to promote start-ups and support the Government of India's vision for entrepreneurship development and innovation culture at GIFT-IFSC.
GIFT City is emerging as a hub for fintech activities and BRTSIF would play an important role for promoting talent and developing ecosystem to attract start-ups in GIFT IFSC, the statement noted.
GIFT City MD and CEO Tapan Ray said, "Fintech and IFSC are emerging fields in India with immense potential.
Their synergy is essential to develop a matured financial ecosystem in the country, given their dynamic traits.
"According to him, one of the objectives of GIFT City has been to provide a productive platform for fintech and related sectors to be globally competitive.
Zone Startups will develop a programme to attract domestic as well as international fintech and fintech-enabled start-ups in areas such as digital banking, crowdfunding, insure-tech, and prepaid payment instruments, among others.
Zone Startups Managing Director Hemant Gupta said the world of banking and financial services is entering a phase of deeply transformative digitisation.
"A new generation of digital consumers expects a modern and seamless customer experience and is demanding new ways of transacting business.
Emerging trends in neo-banking, app-led payments, and digital currencies are all creating new opportunities and presenting new problems that need solutions," he added.