Over the years, there has been an evolution in terms of how banks have perceived FinTech startups. While FinTechs were initially viewed as a threat to the larger banking sector, over time, an understanding came about that being in partnership with the other is the only way to grow. In recent years, banks and FinTechs have increasingly collaborated to bring innovations to the market, impacting millions of lives. Such services significantly impact the socioeconomic development of a country. Learning from this, investors and financial institutions have been eyeing startups that are ‘Beyond FinTech’ and those which focus on areas that are making an impact in the movement of goods/services across key economic sectors (agriculture/health/real estate/energy among others).
The scope of what is referred to as ‘Beyond FinTech’ extends to a variety of areas including but is not limited to AgriTech, PropTech, HealthTech, CleanTech, EdTech, and others. The spectrum of these startups are able to not only provide tremendous value to the operational aspects and address innovation needs in respective areas but are also especially impressive considering the amount & quality of digital data they are generating, which are fast becoming alternative data sources for lending & insurance underwriting.
Here is a brief look at four areas where startups have been taking significant strides:
AgriTech aims to use technology that can help agriculture-linked businesses operate more efficiently. These startups provide a platform to use the data generated by technologies such as sensors, IoT-based monitoring, and satellite imaging for financial services. Notable startups: Indigo[1] (USD 609 million) and Inari[2] (USD 40 million).
PropTech is powered by new-age technologies and data sources that
