INNOVATION CHALLENGE WINNERS TO BENEFIT FROM ISLE OF MAN FINANCIAL INNOVATION HUB

The winner of the FinTech category from the 2024 Innovation Challenge is set to become the latest business to benefit from the support provided by the Isle of Man Financial Innovation Hub (FIH).

Umazi, which offers software solutions aimed at speeding up corporate identity verification, has entered the FIH Observatory coordinated by two of the Department for Enterprise’s exective agencies - Digital Isle of Man and Finance Isle of Man, and the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.

The collaboration is intended to encourage the growth of FinTech innovation in the Island by providing appropriate pathways for firms to develop their propositions. The FIH acts as a single point of entry to access to the Island’s innovation ecosystem by connecting firms with the Isle of Man Government and financial services regulator.

The initiative is a key part of efforts to embrace innovative new products, services and solutions while ensuring an appropriate level of compliance and consumer protection.

The two pathways within the FIH are the Sandbox Pathway, managed by the FSA, and the Observatory Pathway, managed by the Agencies in collaboration with the FSA and applies to entrants which do not have applicable regulatory licencing but do have an impact and interaction with the financial regulatory space.

The Financial Innovation Hub is not an incubator, it is there to offer advice and assistance in integration of financial innovation across the Island's ecosystem and ensure this is a collaborative learning exercise. The FIH does this through a standing committee of four members: one from Digital Isle of Man, one from Finance Isle of Man, and two from the Financial Services Authority. All these members have visibility and the potential to interact with each of the entrants regardless of the pathway being used.

We look forward to progressing the proposition presented by Umazi and collaborating to find the best way to integrate its proposition within the Isle of Man Financial Community.