Atlantic FinTech, an association supporting financial technology in the region, has partnered with Fintech Cadence, a Montreal-based national non-profit, to help grow the region’s fintech industry and ecosystem.

The region is already home to a growing fintech sector, and has raised some notable companies, most famously financial crime prevention software company Verafin, which was acquired by Nasdaq for US$2.75 billion.

On its site, Atlantic FinTech said the region currently has more than 100 fintech startups and is home to more than 500 businesses operating in the finance sector, with a workforce of more than 35,000. 

“It’s not about building a sector from scratch; it’s about creating global opportunities for fintechs within the region,” Alicia Roisman Ismach, Head of Atlantic FinTech, said in a statement.

“One of the key advantages of Atlantic Canada is the significant number of technology companies that support backend or financial operations of large corporations. We have both innovation capabilities and the experience and understanding to solve backend challenges as no other region.”

Ismach worked for decades in the technology industry in Israel. The native of Argentina was hired as Entrepreneur-in-Residence by New Brunswick innovation hub Venn Innovation in October, 2018.

Shortly after, she began gathering fintech players together to promote the segment. This culminated in the 10-company Atlantic Fintech Mission to Las Vegas for Money 20/20, the world’s largest fintech and payments trade show.

“We are happy to partner with Atlantic FinTech to extend our mission through the eastern part of Canada,” Layial El-Hadi, Executive Director at Fintech Cadence, said in the statement.

“Since 2017, we have been fostering a community of innovators and thought leaders in the fintech sector.”