Northern Ireland recruits new Fintech Envoy

Andrew Jenkins, director of mobility data and analytics company Arity, has been announced as the Northern Ireland governments’ new fintech envoy.

Northern Ireland currently boasts over 36,000 people employed in the financial services sector and Jenkins will act as the lead ambassador for the country, promoting it as a place for fintech firms to develop their businesses.

The appointment, made by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, is said to act as simple of the UK Government’s “unwavering commitment to the Union” as the UK prepares for Brexit.

“Fintech is vital to the future of financial services, and we want every corner of the UK to be able to harness its power,” explained Glen.

“I want to congratulate Andrew on taking up his new role as Fintech Envoy, where he will play a critical role in helping the sector to grow and flourish in Belfast and beyond.

“I have no doubt that he will build on the success of the existing envoys in ensuring that we remain a world leader in Fintech and at the cutting edge of the digital revolution.”

Jenkins, who takes over from Georgina O’Leary, possesses over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, including the financial services, utilities, insurance, telecoms and transportation sectors. 

In his current role at Arity he leads work to harness mobility data to create  more relevant and safer mobility experiences for everyone. 

He will join the current envoys based around the UK:

  • David Ferguson, CEO of Nucleus Financial, and Louise Smith, Head of Intelligent Automation at RBS (envoys for Scotland)
  • David Duffy, CEO of CYBG (envoy for England)
  • Chris Sier, Chairman of Fintech North (envoy for the Northern Powerhouse)
  • Richard Theo, CEO of Wealthify (envoy for Wales)

Jenkins added: “I am honoured to be chosen as the Fintech Envoy for Northern Ireland, where I will collaborate with the sector here to harness our incredible potential to lead the region and beyond in Fintech expertise and offerings.

“I will work to bring together business and civic leaders to invest in leading edge technologies and applications, focusing on emerging capabilities in blockchain, artificial intelligence and data security, to further grow the sector in Northern Ireland.

“Our mandate as part of the UK Fintech strategy is to capitalise on what we have already have in place here in Northern Ireland.

“With strong Government support, close collaboration between big companies and start-ups and a world class workforce, Northern Ireland has the potential to become the best place in the world to start and build a Fintech company.”