Page 3 - RBI FIntech Atlas 2018

Dear readers and interested people of the ntech ecosystem,
If you think of European ntech centres, then London, Berlin and Stockholm are probably the rst places that come to mind. And if you look eastwards you might also consider the Baltic States. But did you know that there is a very lively ntech scene in Bulgaria or that Belarus is making great efforts to take a leading role
in the eld of cryptocurrencies? And did you know
that the digital penetration rate in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Russia is close to or greater than the rate in global emerging markets such as China or Turkey? These and many more nuggets of information can be found in this brand new “CEE Fintech Atlas” that we have produced to offer you a useful overview of the state of ntech ecosystems across the CEE Region.
Please bear in mind that, as CEE is a geographical umbrella term for a very heterogeneous region, it is worth looking at each country individually. Some CEE countries already have very well developed ntech ecosystems whereas others are still in the starting blocks. At Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) we play
a very active role in fostering these ecosystems. In 2017 we launched “Elevator Lab”, the largest ntech partnership program in the CEE Region, in order to meet current and future trends in the banking industry and to satisfy the evolving digital needs of consumers in cooperation with ntechs. In 2018 we founded “Elevator Ventures” as a logical complement to Elevator Lab. In its role as RBI’s corporate venture capital entity Elevator Ventures focuses on strategic direct investments in later-stage ntechs, co-investments with partner investors and investments in VC funds – all in close cooperation with Elevator Lab.
As RBI has always seen itself as a builder of bridges to the CEE Region, such activities are part of our company DNA. When the Iron Curtain fell thirty years ago,
we played a pioneering role in building a modern banking system and transforming planned economies into market economies. In 2019 we are playing the role of bridge builder again by, for example, bringing together Western European ntechs and CEE banks, and vice versa. But the market and, hence, this role is very different today. The CEE Region has caught up enormously over the past three decades and has a well-educated, digitally sophisticated population. Our current role is therefore less about development than about helping our clients and partners to overcome local regulatory, linguistic and cultural barriers. To quote Mark Twain: History does not repeat itself,
but it rhymes.
I wish you an interesting read!
Johann Strobl
CEO, Raiffeisen Bank International