Australia is home to over 800 fintech companies and over half of them are based in Sydney. The city is the birthplace of Rokt, Grow, Ignition Advice, Zip Co, Afterpay, Brighte, and a whole raft of smart companies all harnessing technology to disrupt and improve the way people pay for life’s necessities. The first major financial market in the world to open each day is the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which is based in Sydney’s CBD and we will be examining how nearby Barangaroo, Sydney’s Finance and Professional Services district, was designed and how it is a magnet that is both pulling in fresh innovative talent and ideas and pushing out leading product and services to the world. This dynamic new district is blazing a trail for Sydney both as an innovation and thought leader on the world stage. Barangaroo is a crucible for Sydney’s fintech and its achievements and innovations developed there are spreading and attracting like-minded individuals and corporates to the city to work, trade and exchange ideas, including at business events for which a whole new infrastructure has also been created. Financial services is the largest contributor to the NSW economy, and Sydney is at the heart of this engine. Sydney is home to the major banks, the major fund managers, the regulators, the ASX, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), consulting firms and tech companies which drive and support Australia’s massive financial services industry. The connections being made are sparking not only investment, trade and ideas exchange but also having a real social impact propelling global change for the better for all. Find out what connecting in Sydney could do for you and how it could turbocharge your next event. 
Innovating to the new Barangaroo beat
An outstanding example of urban design excellence, Sydney’s Barangaroo is the world’s first large-scale climate-positive precinct, setting new environmental and social sustainability benchmarks. From a neglected wharf to a vibrant precinct, Barangaroo is a prime example of successful urban transformation. It is the first certified carbon-neutral precinct in Australia and is revolutionising the financial landscape. From its strategic location to its dynamic professional ecosystem, Barangaroo, in quick time, has become the beating heart of financial innovation. Lendlease secured the tender to develop Barangaroo South in 2009, setting the stage for a major transformation. Barangaroo sits within the boundaries of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, which represents Aboriginal peoples. The site’s name honours Barangaroo, an influential woman of the Cammeraygal clan in the late 1700s. Sydney’s newest financial hub, Barangaroo accommodates approximately 1,800 residents and serves as a workplace for 23,000 office workers. It was awarded 6 Star Green Star for sustainable design, health and wellness across the entire precinct and a 5 Green Star rating for its residential buildings. The ambitious Barangaroo project has seen a new financial and professional services CBD created that now ranks among the world’s most sustainable commercial districts and is now home to industry leaders such as KPMG, Lendlease, RICS and Swiss Re. 
Anita Mitchell (pictured left) is chief executive of Placemaking NSW and, from 2010 to 2016, led the environmental and social sustainability strategy for Barangaroo South. She says: “Barangaroo represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take a forgotten part of the city and turn it into something dynamic and sustainable – and really added a new part of the city that everybody could embrace.” Formerly known as East Darling Harbour, the district includes Barangaroo Reserve, which covers six hectares of open space offering amazing views of Sydney Harbour as well as walking and cycling trails. Central Barangaroo is the civic focal point for recreation, events retail and entertainment. While Barangaroo South houses commercial offices, residential apartments and hotels. Barangaroo’s continuing success lies in its ability to capitalise on Australia’s entrepreneurial culture and can-do attitude, fostering an environment that encourages innovation and risk-taking – vital components for financial success and impactful and meaningful events. Beyond its role as a connector for financial and professional services, Barangaroo has made significant social impacts too. The Barangaroo Skills Exchange (BSX) was set up in 2013 as an onsite learning hub to help develop a skilled workforce for the precinct’s construction. Another collaboration in the precinct was born out of a shared goal to enhance the marine habitat at Barangaroo South. The collaboration involved Lendlease, the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), and Infrastructure NSW which installed a living sea wall that mimics natural marine structures, including coral and sponges. The result is a thriving underwater habitat. Over $40m was invested in unique artwork across the Barangaroo site, making it home to the highest concentration of public art in the city. 
Connectivity
As part of the broader Darling Harbour precinct, Barangaroo is strategically positioned close to the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). The proximity and synergy of Sydney’s business and retail centres with major venues like ICC Sydney are essential to facilitate close collaboration, which allows innovative ideas to flourish and provides a fertile platform for business events. Sydney is a city that is very well-connected and easy to get around. Certainly, investment flows are connecting and spurring the start-ups and having the world’s 11th-largest stock market on the doorstep helps. Moreover, Australia is top-rated for financial and trade freedom. Sydney’s innovation district Tech Central provides another base for Australia’s fintechs – 60% of them in fact. And 24% of them were founded by women. Around 14% of them have been valued at more than AUD$1m. Sydney’s appetite for innovation – exemplified by neighbourhoods like Barangaroo – ensures world-leading businesses and investors from diverse financial and professional sectors are keen to come and connect and collaborate on great work. Sydney accommodates 80% of foreign banks operating in Australia, along with eight of the country’s largest fund managers and many financial services regulators. The ASX and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) are both based in Sydney’s CBD, a stone’s throw from Barangaroo where you will find a host of foreign banks, fund managers, private equity firms, venture capitalists, accounting and law firms. All fertile fintech ground for making synergies. This fintech critical mass includes innovators such as Rokt, an AI-powered e-commerce platform founded in 2012. Rokt has enabled companies like Uber, PayPal, Hulu, and eBay to increase customers and grow revenue. With more than 500 employees, it has now opened offices worldwide and is one of Australia’s first fintech ‘unicorns’. Zip Co was founded just a year later than Rokt in Sydney and is also in the neighbourhood. It is a leading global Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) company with a record of disrupting the credit card model. Moving on another year in terms of funding in Sydney is Afterpay, Australia’s biggest BNPL platform designed to tackle the problem of credit card debt and help people spend responsibly. It has gained 22 million global customers. Sally Loane is chair of Destination NSW, chair of Ignition Advice and a director of Chubb Insurance Australia. She was also CEO of the Financial Services Council (FSC) from 2014–2021 and believes Australian culture is uniquely suited to financial innovation, driven by a population eager to embrace new technologies and ideas. She says an ‘early adopter’ mentality and the ‘can-do’ attitude permeates the Australian consumer base. “People here are not afraid to take risks and try new tech. We’re world-leading in our payment systems,” Loane says. “Most Australians are now very used to paying cashless on our smartphones and watches.” Sydney and Barangaroo’s Ambassadors continue to connect local professionals with clients via influential networks across legal, finance, innovation, public policy, education and international relations and trade.
Destination NSW
Thought leadership
Sydney is a world leader in contactless payment penetration and has the second-highest smartphone adoption worldwide. Those at the cutting edge of the innovation curve in this great city are also bringing others along fast in the development wake. Incubators like Stone and Chalk, based at Sydney’s innovation hub, Tech Central, provide valuable guidance to fintech startups and scale-ups, ensuring the right support is available to make a significant global impact. In this special environment fintech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, corporates, and governments across the full spectrum of the fintech landscape (payment systems, peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, automated advice, capital markets, and cryptocurrencies) can meet and spark new projects and ideas. Also, the introduction of the enhanced regulatory sandbox (ERS) by the Australian Government has paved the way for people and businesses to test out new and innovative financial services or credit activities without needing a licence up-front. ERS offers a testing period of up to 24 months, encouraging new fintech ideas to emerge. Sydney has firmly established itself as a destination where innovation thrives, and financial services events find their perfect stage. Its status as a global city with a diverse and well-educated workforce means it has a talent pool equipped to introduce innovative concepts and drive change in the finance and professional services industry and beyond. Allied to this ‘software’ of talent is the hardware of venues and meetings infrastructure that makes for a Super Destination where business, fintech and events can all thrive on a truly global stage.
