Ireland’s first sustainable finance strategy for the fintech sector launched
Wednesday October 19th: Ireland’s strategy to support the development of innovative, data-driven technology solutions to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges has been officially launched.
Overseen by Sustainable Finance Ireland and the Fintech and Payments association of Ireland, the Sustainable Finance Fintech Strategy has been developed in collaboration with stakeholders across financial services, fintech, academia and government in order to leverage Ireland’s existing strength in financial technology to support the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Delivery of this Strategy falls under Pillar 3 of the Irish Sustainable Finance Roadmap – ‘Leveraging Digital’ – which focuses on the application of digital solutions to the ESG data and risk management challenges.
In welcoming the launch of the Sustainable Finance Fintech Strategy, Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Sean Fleming said, “Fintech and Sustainable Finance are key themes in the updated Ireland for Finance Strategy, which I launched this year. Our plan is to create 5,000 net new jobs in the international financial services sector by the end of 2026.
I welcome this initiative by Sustainable Finance Ireland and the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland to increase collaboration in the sector to maximise opportunities for growth.”
“The Government is taking a similar approach to grow the sector. The Department of Finance recently established a Fintech Steering Group to help Government co-ordinate its response to the changing landscape in digital finance. A new public-private sector fintech group will be established this year to complement this group’s work.”
Chair of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland, Ruth McCarthy said, “Collaboration is key when it comes to progressing the sustainable finance agenda within the fintech sector.
I am delighted to see the hard work that the Irish fintech industry put in to devising and developing this strategy now bearing fruit and enabling it to map out its response to sustainability demands.”
Speaking about the launch of the Strategy, Sustainable Finance Ireland Programme Director Colette Coogan said, “Following the framework offered by the Irish Sustainable Finance Roadmap, the Fintech strategy outlines five key pillars through which the fintech sector can develop a comprehensive response to sustainability demands.
The Strategy has been designed to support collaboration between financial services and fintech to help Ireland achieve its ambition to become a leading sustainable finance centre by 2025.”
For more information about Ireland’s Sustainable Finance Fintech Strategy, click here.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Anthony McFeely, Communications Manager, Sustainable Finance Ireland
Email: [email protected]
Notes for editors:
Climate Finance Week Ireland
An output of the Ireland for Finance annual Action Plan, Climate Finance Week Ireland is now in its fifth year. Climate Finance Week Ireland has undergone exponential growth in the 5 years since its inception, going from 600 attendees in 2018 to over 5.5 thousand at last year’s event, and seeing event social media impressions increase from over 280 thousand to 10.4 million across the same time period.
Sustainable Finance Ireland
Sustainable Finance Ireland works to position Ireland as a leader in sustainable finance. All activities are aligned with government’s Ireland for Finance strategy and help to deliver on annual action plans. Sustainable Finance Ireland is responsible for delivering the national Sustainable Finance Roadmap launched at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021.
Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland
The Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland (FPAI) is a non-for-profit trade association which welcomes participation and engagement from all stakeholders with an interest in the Irish FinTech ecosystem. Its primary aim is to unlock the value of community in helping to foster an environment in which both indigenous and multi-national FinTech companies can thrive and get the very best from locating and doing business in Ireland.
Irish Sustainable Finance Roadmap
Supported by Skillnet Ireland, in 2021 the national Sustainable Finance Roadmap has been developed by Sustainable Finance Ireland and UNDP FC4S, in collaboration with Irish public and private stakeholders. Launched during Climate Finance Week 2021 by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue, the roadmap consists of 18 actions across five pillars of Talent Development; Industry Readiness; Leveraging Digital; Enabling Environment; and Promotion and Communications. Action 1 is the establishment of the International Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence.
