The fintech world beyond Silicon Valley and Europe: Emerging market contenders

According to a recent study by Accenture, investments in fintech hit $5.3 billion in the first quarter of this year (having grown 75% in 2015). Most of the investments have occurred in the U.S. and Europe, with a marked exception this year when China’s Ant Financial completed a staggering $4.5 billion raise at a $60 billion valuation, making it one of the highest-valued private companies in the world.

This recent raise may draw to emerging markets attention from the world beyond London, New York and Silicon Valley, which importantly house more than 90% of the world’s under-30 population. Countries other than the US and UK have collectively spawned a range of visibly successful companies — from Yandex and Baidu in search, to Alibaba in e-commerce, to Naspers in media.

Alexander Dunaev of ID Finance, an international provider of online loans with Russian roots,  has reviewed some of the emerging market contenders across the fintech space.