Fintech and insurtech's path forward: balancing eco-friendliness, technological advancements, and digitally-connected consumers
The 2024 Conference of the Politecnico di Milano Observatory brought together academics, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the future of finance, sustainability, and startups. Here are the key takeaways from the event.
Financial Customer and Innovation Finance
Research led by Politecnico di Milano School of Management highlighted the importance of innovative financial instruments and public policy in fostering startups and entrepreneurial finance. Government-funded accelerator programs were found to significantly aid startups’ internationalization and growth. The impact of Generative AI on firm productivity is a key emerging theme, pointing to new technology’s transformative effect on business capabilities.
Broader European financial innovation contexts emphasize the need for smart financial tools that support green and digital innovation, focusing on flexible and impact-driven finance for SMEs and regional development.
Sustainability and Ecological Transition
Sustainability is a core theme as market instability and geopolitical tensions demand adaptive innovation. Efforts revolve around ecological transition and decarbonization goals, requiring organizations to rethink processes to maintain competitiveness and resilience in volatile global contexts.
Smart financial instruments and innovation funding are designed to back green innovation and sustainability-focused startups, reinforcing a twin transition integrating environmental and digital priorities.
Startups as Drivers of Innovation
Startups are positioned as critical agents in innovation ecosystems, with special attention to how policy support and entrepreneurial finance enable their growth and international reach. The Politecnico’s research underlines the value of accelerators and public interventions in scaling startups and leveraging emerging technologies like AI.
The observatory’s activities include organizing in-depth workshops and public conferences that gather academics, policymakers, and business leaders to discuss innovation policy, skills development, and digital transformation, highlighting startups’ role in driving these processes.
Digital Competences and Skills Development
Enhancing the digital skills of public employees and citizens is another key dimension, seen as fundamental to innovation adoption and sustainability. The Observatory focuses on measuring digital skills evolution, evaluating training policies, and understanding their impact on public sector performance and citizen engagement, which ultimately affect the innovation ecosystem.
A Commitment to Sustainability
The Observatory emphasizes the need for a deeper commitment, concreteness, and an integrated vision to tackle the complex issue of sustainability. The future of Fintech and Insurtech depends on the ability to bravely tackle global challenges and seize the opportunities offered by innovation.
These regulations, designed to strengthen digital resilience and improve access to financial data, offer opportunities for innovation. 74% of sector players consider ESG (environmental, social, and governance) themes fundamental for the long term.
Corrado Passera spoke at the Final Conference of the Politecnico di Milano Fintech and Insuretech Observatory. Many startups collaborate with traditional banks and insurers, creating ecosystems where innovation thrives. The Italian Fintech landscape is more vibrant than ever, with 596 operational entities and 250 million euros raised in 2024.
74% of Italians regularly use home banking, and 65% rely on the apps of their banks. However, only one in four consumers feels comfortable providing personal documents such as pay stubs through digital channels. The conference emphasized the importance of an integrated approach that combines digitalization, new technological solutions, and business and consumer needs.
Startups are confirmed as the driving force behind the transformation in the Italian Fintech scene. Balancing sustainability, digitalization, and customer focus will be key to thriving in a constantly evolving world.
- The importance of innovative financial instruments and public policy, including government-funded accelerator programs, was emphasized at the conference as critical for fostering startups and entrepreneurial finance, particularly in the realm of sustainability and green innovation.
- The need for smart financial tools that support green and digital innovation, and provide flexible and impact-driven finance for SMEs and regional development, was highlighted as a priority in the broader European financial innovation context.
- Startups are recognized as critical agents in innovation ecosystems, driving processes such as Fintech and Insurtech transformation, and their growth and international reach are influenced by policy support and entrepreneurial finance, particularly through accelerators and public interventions.
