VenCent’s first FinTech Summit in Little Rock a national success

This month, in my hometown of Little Rock, the Venture Center hosted the first VenCent FinTech Summit, bringing together banking industry leaders as well as entrepreneurs and government officials from around the world.

Over the course of three days, over 500 attendees experienced 70 live demonstrations, dozens of speakers, and countless resources and opportunities to connect after nearly three years of Zoom calls and video conferencing.

It was great to be back in person and share the stage with incredible speakers like Governor Asa Hutchinson, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman and FIS Chairman and CEO Gary Norcross.

I talked about how technology has always been at the heart of the financial services industry, as well as Arkansas’ history and future as a hub for fintech and innovation. Little Rock is often considered the birthplace of FinTech, thanks in part to the founding of Systematics – known today as FIS. Today, FIS is a global company and one of the largest processing and payment companies in the world.

The inaugural summit, hosted by The Venture Center in partnership with FIS and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), successfully demonstrated why Arkansas is a growing innovation hub that attracts talent, investment and big ideas.

Arkansas is a great example of what it takes to build an innovative, successful venture ecosystem. It doesn’t happen by accident—it requires buy-in from leaders across our communities, capital investment, partnerships between established companies and startups, top-tier colleges and universities, innovative organizations like The Venture Center, and pro-growth policies at all levels of government.

That’s how Arkansas companies were able to raise a record $107.6 million in venture funding last year — three times more than in 2020.

But too often this type of investment does not reach all parts of our country. In fact, 80% of all venture capital investments in the United States are concentrated in just three states: California, New York, and Massachusetts.

I hope to see this investment come to more areas of our country, not just the east and west coasts, and I’m working in Congress to do just that. I’m proud to see Arkansas continue to grow as a FinTech hub and show the rest of the country that innovative ideas come from everywhere and find solutions to tomorrow’s big challenges.

I was proud to be a part of this year’s first summit and look forward to seeing it grow and flourish in the years to come. Thanks to the Venture Center for making it happen.

Editor’s note: The US Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, represents Arkansas’ second congressional district. The opinions expressed are those of the author.