GIFT City’s ADB-Supported Fintech Innovation Hub to Launch in January 2025

Officials stated on Wednesday that the International Fintech Innovation Hub, which is being established in GIFT City with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will be operational by January 2025 following the opening of a start-up accelerator and an institute to develop a fintech talent pool.

Today, GIFT City is home to over 100 fintech companies. We currently employ over 25,000 people overall, and in the next five years, we aim to reach 1.5 lakh. On the fringes of the “Global Fintech Fest 2024,” Saurabh Singhal, GIFT City’s Chief Commercial Officer, and chief FinTech Officer, told Businessline that roughly 90% of the skill pool required will be in the finance or technology sectors.

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“We have partnered with ADB to establish an international fintech innovation hub to attract more fintech businesses to GIFT City. Three main pillars will support this hub. We intend to establish a global fintech academy and are currently enlisting the help of a reputable international institution in partnership with India to provide fintech training and cultivate a talent pool,” he continued. 

ADB authorized a $23 million loan in February 2024 for GIFT City’s fintech education, research, and innovation.

Investigation and Progression

According to Singhal, the innovation hub would also have an accelerator and a fintech incubator to support recently formed GIFT City-based fintech start-ups. A research centre for advancing fintech research and development makes up the hub’s third pillar. 

He continued, “This will allow us to develop talent, new start-ups, and research, all of which will contribute to this financial ecosystem at GIFT City.”

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GIFT City anticipates awarding the accelerator by September and is now closing the proposal request. “Our goal is to launch the institute and start-up accelerator in January of the following year,” Singhal stated. 

Regarding the potential fintech courses that the new institute will provide, he stated, “GIFT is fairly unique because of the cross-border use cases.” We have realized that the demands are not being met by the homegrown talent generated in the current educational system. The new institute’s training offerings will center on use cases related to cross-border financial services. 

The future of fintech will be covered in courses on artificial intelligence and data analytics. When we choose the partner, we will address these issues. Additionally, the representative for GIFT City stated that the courses given there will be distinct and not duplicates of those found on Indian campuses.

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