Israel's Fintech Scene Is Flourishing

Interested in getting involved in fintech? Check out the 2016 Benzinga Fintech Awards, the industry's premier awards show dedicated to innovation in finance. Learn more about attending or sponsoring this event here.

Israel may seem like an unlikely place for a budding fintech community. It's mostly desert, and located in an area of the world not exactly known for its technological innovation.

Despite that, the country that's only slightly larger than New Jersey has managed to build quite the fintech scene. Why and how have they managed this?

Startup Nation

According to Bank Innovation Israel, at one startup for every 1,844 people, Israel has the highest density of startups per capita in the world. This speaks to its small population (roughly 8.5 million, which is less than Michigan), but it also speaks to Israel's commitment to fintech.

As of 2015 there were over 200 active Israeli startups in fintech alone, in areas ranging from payments, to anti-fraud, to banking and financing.

One of the reasons for this surge has to do with Israel's small yet technology-friendly population, which is seen by many as a premier testing ground for new products.

This has led to more outside investments coming into Israel, such as Citi, Barclays and Spanish bank Banco Santader, which have all invested in the growing sector.

Making The List

Many Israeli fintech firms are now getting recognition for their innovations, with 10 being named to 2015's Fintech 100, a list compiled by KPMG and investment firm H2 Ventures. Included in the top 10 of that list was OurCrowd, an equity crowdfunding platform. OurCrowd has also been nominated for the Benzinga Fintech Awards in May.

To find out who else has been nominated at the Benzinga Fintech Awards, or if you'd like to attend or sponsor the event, go here.

Image courtesy of Carmel Ventures