Over twenty percent of the population in the UK has a handicap, resulting in an estimated £274 billion in annual spending power. In spite of this sizeable population, anecdotal evidence also points to a dearth of disability representation in UK fintech jobs.

Leading the fintech industry and advocate for disability inclusion, Joanne Dewar, is spearheading Project Nemo, a year-long initiative to combat disability inclusion in the financial space. Three main strategies will be employed in this endeavor to bring about significant and long-lasting change:


It aims to promote systemic change by empowering people, educating them, and highlighting achievements:

1. Teaching: Raising knowledge of the obstacles and chances for fintech to be more accessible to people with disabilities and their real-world experiences.
2. Empowering: Providing a toolkit of information and knowledge to allow leaders in the fintech industry, allies, activists, and people with firsthand experience to create inclusive workplaces, goods, and services.
3. Showcasing: Exposing and applauding advancements.

Program for Inclusion

Project Nemo's Fintech Festival of Inclusion, an events program created to assist fintech industry leaders in accepting small modifications for their long-term journey toward inclusion, is the centerpiece of the effort. Through the collaboration of disability specialists, advocates, and success stories with the fintech community, each workshop event will enable the implementation of revolutionary reforms.

The results of these workshops will also contribute to a useful manual that is enhanced with case studies, which will finally result in an extensive e-book and podcast series designed specifically for the fintech community.
 

"What started as isolated conversations a year ago have rapidly gathered momentum and, in just a few short months we are launching at IFGS," explains Dewar, the lead of Project Nemo. Even though I have long been the leader in fintech for equity and inclusion, I have never seen such unwavering support and emotional resonance for a single issue—disability inclusion. Fintech has lost out on a huge opportunity.

Fintech views itself as the financial services industry of the future, and we have achieved significant progress in cost reduction, reach expansion, and simplification. But we must make sure that our workplaces, as well as all of our products and services, completely take accessibility into account if we hope to ever gain widespread adoption outside of the digital native population.

The debut

At this week's Innovate Finance Global Summit, Dewar and fintech author and analyst Chris Skinner will speak to the audience and encourage fintech companies to become involved.

"As the industry body for UK fintech, Innovate Finance is delighted to support Project Nemo," stated Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance.

"We think it's essential to promote more diversity in our sector to guarantee that the UK's leading fintech business can keep growing and becoming stronger. Project Nemo is a first for the industry in promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in our field.

The objective of Project Nemo is to leave a long-lasting legacy of ongoing advancement toward a more inclusive fintech sector and services. It is also supported by organizations and friends like Fintech Week London, Fintech North, and Fintech Fringe.