Spotcap has announced Vishal Uppal as the winner of the Fintech Scholarship 2017. The first of its kind in Australia, a country that is a hotbed of Fintech innovation relative to its size, the scholarship awards a single aspiring graduate with an interest in Fintech $10,000 towards the cost of their tuition.
The number of Fintechs operating in Australia has increased by almost 500% (from 2014-2017). Fintech is considered one of Australia’s fastest growing industries. Spotcap, an online lender serving SMEs, recognizes its responsibility to foster the next generation of home-grown talent to enable the industry to evolve.
A current Finance and Computer Science student at the University of Sydney, and a previous student at the University of California, Uppal is said to share Spotcap’s mission to address the talent shortage within the fintech industry.
“I believe the most important challenge fintech will face is a social one,” says Uppal. “My aim is to build solutions that address these issues by embracing design philosophy with the next wave of advancements in cognitive technology.”
Attracting qualified and capable Fintech talent is a challenge in much of the world. Australia is no different with 52% of Fintech leaders agreeing there is a lack of experienced start-up and Fintech talent in the country.
SpotCap explains that the scholarship program aims to promote awareness of Fintech among students, and to encourage young Australians to value the influence of technology in remodeling the future of the financial services industry.
“We need to ensure that fintech has a healthy talent pipeline here in Australia,” states Lachlan Heussler, Managing Director of Spotcap Australia and New Zealand. “Vishal’s dedication to his studies and passion for the intersection of technology and finance, make him the perfect recipient of this scholarship. He embodies the confidence, skills and talent that the industry needs to grow, we are proud to support him.”
Spotcap will open its 2018 Fintech Scholarship later in the year.