The East of England Hidden FinTech Gem with Tech East and Idenfo

In this week's episode, hosts Faye Holland and James Parton dive deep into the region's thriving FinTech ecosystem with Tim Robinson, CEO of Tech East, and Antony Bellingall, co-founder of Norwich-based compliance software company Idenfo. What emerges is a compelling story about regional tech excellence, female founder leadership, and why London's dominance in FinTech might be masking some genuinely impressive talent elsewhere.What makes this particularly interesting is that Norwich wasn't even mentioned in the government's 2021 Khalifa review of UK FinTech - despite financial services accounting for one of the highest proportions of GVA in the city's economy. The oversight was glaring.But there's something special happening across the East of England:Female founder leadership: Outside London, Norfolk has the highest proportion of female tech founders in the UKStrong role models: From university leadership to corporate executives, visible female pioneers are normalising entrepreneurshipSupportive ecosystem: Professional services, legal support, and university partnerships create a genuine communityThe Idenfo Story: Global Ambitions, Local RootsAntony Bellingall's journey perfectly encapsulates why the region works. After stints in Japan and Singapore building compliance expertise, he returned to Norwich to launch Idenfo in 2019. Today, they have 2,000 customers across 15 countries.The collaboration with the University of East Anglia on hologram detection systems for identity cards shows how academic partnerships can drive real product innovation.What's Next?Tech East has just launched FinTechEast.com and is planning a major push to connect FinTech businesses across the entire region - Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich, and beyond. Rather than competing with London, the strategy is smarter: build a distributed network of smaller hubs that collectively punch well above their weight.Tim Robinson will be speaking at London Tech Week 2026 on Regional Tech Ecosystems, bringing the East's story to the capital. Listen to the full episode on the Cambridge Tech Podcast and discover why this region deserves a place on every tech investor's radar.Headline sponsor Holden Polestar#CamTechPod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.