Odisha holds Fintech Festival, eyes investment

Bhubaneswar: Maiden Odisha Fintech Festival was held in the capital here today with the participation of startups, fintech companies, students, researchers, politicians and visitors from several sectors.

A number of activities ranging from opening session, panel discussions and fireside chats to product launches and a MoU signing ceremony were organized during the festival.

The festival was held with an objective to develop a roadmap for the fintech industry in Odisha, identify opportunities and challenges and attract more fintech companies to the state, an official said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the festival through video conference.

Tusharkanti Behera, Minister Electronics & IT, Sports & Youth Services & Home, Pradeep Kumar Jena, Chief Secretary, Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary, Finance, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary, E&IT, Omkar Rai, Chairman, Startup Odisha, Manas Panda , Special Secretary, E&IT, Suvendu Pati, CGM RBI, and Praveena Rai, COO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) were present on the occasion.

The festival was organized on a grand scale with the support of NPCI and iServeU, a homegrown fintech startup serving leading banks and fintech across India.

The festival showcased the latest trends in the fintech space and the growing acceptance and popularity of fintech applications among the masses.

Senior business leaders attended the festival as panelists and shared their insights on technology trends. The panelists include Debiprasad Sarangi, CEO, iServeU, Soumen Das, Director of Capital Markets and Investments at VIKASA Capital, Rajeev Varma, MD, and Head – FIG and GIB, Edelweiss Financial Services, Rageshree Tungar, VP Sales, Pinelabs and Shri Vishwa Nath Jha, Founder Saarthi.ai.

The economic revolution triggered by UPI and the enormous opportunities through its use were discussed in the panel discussion titled ‘Credit card – UPI link: Driving the next wave of Growth in digital payments’.

In the session ‘Voice Tech – The Power to Unlock the Real Value of Bharat’, technologies and ways to improve digital and financial inclusion were discussed. Recognizing the critical role of SMEs in India’s growth and the centrality of fintech in ensuring financial access for them, a panel discussion titled “Accelerating Access to Finance for SMEs” was also held at the festival.

The widely recognized Indian fintech success story and challenges ahead were addressed in the session “Growth of Fintech in India”. The growth of Odisha’s fintech ecosystem and the opportunities that lie within it were addressed during the session ‘Fintech & Bank Collaborations in East India’.

Two master classes – “Understanding Investments in Fintechs” and “Driving Innovations through NPCI’s API Accelerator Platform” – and a fireside talk titled “Transforming Rural India via UPI for PPIs” were organized as part of the festival.

Various BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System) products from companies like Misscallpay – Tata Power, AU Small Finance Bank and iServeU Technology Pvt Ltd were launched during the event.

The state government also signed MoUs with NPCI and Paytm. The agreement with NPCI will help to increase digital transactions in government business through effective use of NPCI’s digital payment solutions and develop innovative and replicable models to increase digital transactions. The MoU with Paytm is aimed at financial inclusion of citizens and merchants in the state as well as investment facilitation.

The deliberations at the event highlighted how fintech advances have significantly increased financial access and inclusion. Currently, over 3,000 startups are working to create new fintech products and services in the country, and some of them have become unicorns.

Mobile wallets and digital payment platforms have accelerated the process of financial inclusion by empowering the unbanked to participate in the economy. Big data and advanced analytics have improved credit scoring models, risk assessment, access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Recently, the use of blockchain technology has improved the efficiency, transparency and security of financial transactions. The fintech revolution has benefited everyone, from citizens to MSMEs.

Odisha has made rapid progress in the fintech space in recent years and several fintech startups and companies like iServeU, Autosave, Mool Technologies and Subhalaxmi Future Solutions have launched their innovative products and services nationally. This event will give impetus to the government’s efforts to create more jobs, increase innovation in the financial sector and transform Odisha into a national fintech hub, the official added.