Monday, 16 December 2024
Donegal County Council is excited to be part of plans to launch an ‘Innovation Challenge’ in partnership with the City of London Corporation in early 2025.
The world’s first multi-sector ‘RegTech Supercluster’ is being developed here in the North West by partners Donegal County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, ATU, Ulster University, Catalyst and APLHA Innovation. The Supercluster is launching the innovation challenge to showcase our potential to become a global leader in RegTech innovation, building on our unique location straddling the EU-UK border and cross-jurisdictional talent pool and ecosystem. ‘RegTech’ is the use of innovative technology to automate or reduce the considerable burden and cost of compliance with regulation.
The Innovation Challenge was announced as part of a RegTech Forum held event in Derry on 9th December 2024 organised by Derry City & Strabane District Council, Invest Northern Ireland and Ulster University as a key part of a visit by the Lord Mayor of City of London Corporation. It was attended by over 100 industry leaders, regulators, academics, and innovators. The event was chaired by Invest NI Chair John Healy with a keynote address from the Lord Mayor as well as panels exploring industry and regulator perspectives – including from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Department of Finance Ireland.
Both financial regulators supported the importance of engagement with industry to understand issues and to ensure that regulation is as agile as possible. The Department of Finance Ireland highlighted the need for “a borderless approach to RegTech” recognising that technology solutions focussing on one jurisdiction are not sustainable. The importance of collaboration was echoed by the industry panel of companies who all work on a cross-jurisdictional basis in Ireland and the UK. Key messaging that reinforced the significance and potential of the RegTech Supercluster included: the need to be agile and work across borders; a ‘perfect storm’ of regulatory change and speed of technology; building on momentum; ‘leaning in’ to the accessibility of regulators – and ‘I am super excited about the supercluster”.
The Lord Mayor of the City of London Corporation, Alastair King said: “It was a pleasure to attend and speak at the RegTech Forum. The appetite for growth and innovation was palpable and the City Corporation is honoured to be a part of it….we will continue to work closely with the region to build on its brilliant work.” NI Economy Minister, Conor Murphy, highlighted the significance of the RegTech Forum taking place in the North West “This event underscores the North West’s potential to become a global leader in RegTech innovation. By harnessing the region’s strategic advantages, all-island expertise and strong partnerships, we are building a foundation for transformative innovation in financial regulation.” A key concluding message from the event was ‘Let’s Just do it’ – with the North West now positioned to take this forward through the Innovation Challenge which will open in early 2025. It will provide opportunities for innovators to come up with innovative solutions to real-world regulatory challenges.
The involvement of the City of London in our Innovation Challenge will bring their expertise and track record in leading cyber innovation challenges in recent years. The City of London is a global leader in the financial services sector, with the Lord Mayor playing an international ambassador role for the UK-wide sector. Financial services are one of the most targeted sectors for online fraud and their cyber challenge has been addressing the need for more innovative and collaborative solutions between the financial sector and tech companies.
To find out more about the RegTech Supercluster or to express an interest in participating in the Innovation Challenge go to https://www.regtechsupercluster.com. We would also love to hear your ideas for challenges in compliance that this and future Innovation Challenge could address, including across other sectors. See also Episode 13 of the ALPHA Innovation campfire series which covers the Innovation Challenge.
