The countries of South and Southeast Asia saw a year on year decline of 83 percent in new fintechs in 2022, with only 349 startups emerging in the region, says Robocash Group.

The analytical centre said in a statement on Friday that the volume of investments, however, has not decreased so dramatically, with investors choosing less risky strategies.

According to the statement, the newly formed fintechs were able to raise about $153 million via various financing rounds.

This is 1.4 percent of the total attracted investments in fintech in this region.

Meanwhile, the payments and transfers sector accounted for the largest number of new companies in SEA & SA – 72 (20.6 percent of the total), mostly concentrated in India.

Meanwhile, blockchain and crypto and exchange-traded assets featured 47 companies each (13.5 percent), most of which were based in Singapore.

Finally, there were 38 new alternative lending companies (10.9 percent).

However, the total amount raised by all fintech companies in the region decreased to $12.7 billion, falling 38.6 percent as compared to 2021.

Robocash Group analysts cited the lack of public information as reason, as investment aggregators are still adding new company profiles.

Still, the missing data is unlikely to make a significant difference in the total showing for 2022, especially compared to the previous year, it said.

“The decline in the number of new fintechs greatly exceeds the reduction in the volume of investment attraction. Investors are opting for less risky strategies, wary of the incoming worldwide recession,

“The market is ‘cleansing;, leaving room for only the most sustainable fintech companies,” said the analysts at Robocash Group.

Assuming the current decade-long trend holds, the number of new companies may grow by 21.6 percent in 2023 from the current 349 to 425.

At the same time, the attraction of funds for all fintech companies may reach $13.2 billion.

Robocash Group is a group of companies, which provides fintech services in Asia and Europe.

Founded in 2013, the group focuses on providing technological finance solutions for the underserved by the traditional banking system.

All products of the group are built completely in-house using artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven technologies to provide precise and comprehensive risk management, comfort and speed for customers and efficiency for business.

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