Fintech Cadence Adds Toronto Presence
Montreal-based Fintech Cadence, Canada’s fintech hub, has announced today that it is absorbing another Canadian fintech catalyst, Toronto’s Innovate Financial Health. The move made sense for both groups, and allows Fintech Cadence to establish a beachhead in the Six, while deepening its expertise and capabilities in the financial health vertical.
IFH completed its inaugural cohort in 2020, helping to develop fintechs with a focus on financial health. This may include startups with a focus on underserved communities such as newcomers to Canada, remote communities and the unbanked. Examples of their alumnae include included four startups, altruWisdom, PolicyMe, Quber, and ZayZoon.
Elvis Wong, founder of IFH back on 2019, initiated discussions with Fintech Cadence last fall. His team has a deep expertise in financial health, and wanted to focus on that area. Consequently, it made sense to join forces with Fintech Cadence which already has a nationwide reach, strong network within financial institutions and marketing resources. Leadership at Fintech cadence also like the idea, as they have been looking for ways to develop deeper, vertical specific programs to complement its existing high-level curriculum.
“It’s great for Canada. Stronger organizations benefit the fintech ecosystem not just in Montreal or Toronto but all across Canada” said Layial El-Hadi, Executive Director at Fintech Cadence. “When we unify our energies and work together, it delivers a bigger impact on the entire ecosystem. Whether it’s through acquisition, partnerships or collaboration, unity is a good thing for all of us. And we’ve also now seen with JP Morgan increasing its sponsorship of IFH and transferring it to Fintech Cadence, a more unified ecosystem is attractive to corporate partners as well.”
On top of this impressive sponsorship, El-Hadi added that Fintech Cadence is working on partnerships with a number of other corporations and stakeholder groups including EY, Expertus and Payments Canada. Furthermore, her team is already collaborating with innovation catalysts in Calgary, Regina, Vancouver and Atlantic Canada with an eye towards further solidifying the country’s fintech sector.
Other actors in Canada’s fintech space welcomed the move as well. Jan Arp, Founding Managing Partner at Holt Accelerator, told Montreal in Technology “Fintech Cadence continues to unify our nation’s fintech grassroots initiatives so that we may better cultivate talent to capitalize on the inevitable fintech revolution. The acquisition of IFH further solidifies this mission, and we look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with them to build a better Canada”.
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