Viswanath Pilla
Moneycontrol News
Andhra Pradesh government on October 23 said it's expecting Rs 500 crore investments in financial technologies (fintech) sector in the next two years.
The government is hoping for another 75 companies to come and set up shop in the state, providing employment opportunities to 5,000 people.
The state government is projecting port city Visakhapatnam as a hub for fintech companies and startups like developing technologies digital payments, blockchain, cloud, data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
On Tuesday, US-based Cardylytics, Federal Bank and HDFC signed memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with the state government to set up their operations.
Federal Bank, which will be developing digital solutions, said it will provide employment to 600 people.
The state also signed MoUs to partner with fintech accelerators and incubators from Israel and Hong Kong to help build eco-system in Visakhapatnam.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he wants to develop Visakhapatnam on lines of other established fintech hubs such as London, New York and San Fransico.
"We are trying to build the ecosystem necessary for fintech companies to thrive in this part of the region," Naidu said speaking to media on sidelines of Vizag Fintech Festival 2018.
Naidu said his government is ready to provide relevant data and even prepared to deploy some of the ideas and solutions developed by fintech startups in the administration.
The state government has deployed a blockchain solution developed by Visakhapatnam based startup to secure land records of the upcoming capital Amaravati.
Around 60 percent of all court cases are related to land disputes. Naidu said his government is also looking at blockchain in public distribution system.
The state government also set aside around Rs 100 crore fund to invest in these startups including a $1 million challenge as part of Vizag Fintech Festival to enable startups to showcase their solutions and get a chance to win up to $1 million in funding and set up their office in Vizag.
So far it was able to attract Rs 100-120 crore investment from 6 big and 17 startup companies.
Some companies such as Paytm, ValueLabs, Blocktrust, Knolskape, Transaction Analysts, Genesys Labs and GMS, Zebi have offices in the valley.
The state government has set up 300,000 square feet Millennium Towers to house fintech companies. It has also earmarked 600 acres for upcoming technology park near Kappulapada in Visakhapatnam.
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