FTE0013 – Individual Assignment: Additional Guidelines
Title: “A Fintech Opportunity for the Board”
(by a fresh Fintech analyst)
Case Context
The Board of an incumbent financial institution—such as a traditional bank, venture capital fund, or even a charity—is seeking guidance on embracing Fintech.
As a newly hired Fintech analyst with an MSc from UCL, your role is to:
- Highlight your preferred Fintech domain or technology, or
- Present a specific Fintech proposal, investment deal, or market opportunity.
You will:
- Define a hypothetical incumbent institution profile
- Conduct market and competitor analysis
- Tabulate a small set of alternatives (3–5 early-stage Fintechs in the same domain)
- Suggest the most relevant metrics and KPIs to guide the Board’s decision
Deliverable:
- A formal, actionable report of approximately 2,500 words for the Board.
Objective
Building on your previous Group Assignment, which involved identifying innovative early-stage Fintechs:
- Now, focus on your own ideas and perspectives
- Identify potential strategic Fintech projects or business decisions for a hypothetical firm
- Analyze the incumbent’s “pain points” and the Fintech value proposition
Note: You are not required to:
- Create an investment proposal or start-up
- Negotiate deals or provide detailed valuation/financial analysis
Instead, focus on market research, competitor review, and actionable recommendations.
Topic Guidelines
- Do not provide a broad introduction to Fintech or technologies (e.g., blockchain, open banking)
- Focus on:
- A novel technology or business case
- An underserved or niche market, potentially international
- Practical strategic or operational opportunities for an incumbent
Deliverables:
- Actionable suggestion of Fintech deal options
- Critical review of selected Fintech companies
- Tabulated comparison of alternatives with relevant metrics/KPIs
- Optional: diagrams to support clarity
Key Points:
- Decisiveness and clarity are critical
- Justify your shortlisting of Fintechs or strategic choices
- Emphasize specific, objective analysis over marketing or promotion
Scope and Research
- You may choose any Fintech domain or company encountered in prior assignments
- Leverage Fintech news portals, lecture slide resources, and AI tools for inspiration
- Identify gaps in incumbent offerings, exotic markets, or exciting technologies
- Focus on actionable, board-level recommendations, not exhaustive statistical or financial analysis
Additional Marks
You may earn extra credit by:
- Identifying specific technical components or strategic business partnerships
- Going beyond high-level ideation to provide well-scoped, actionable suggestions
- Prioritizing KPIs, project scale, or cross-border market opportunities
Note: SWOT analysis alone is not sufficient.
Best Practices
- Actionable recommendations are highly valued
- Original insights may feed into the final Group Project
- Strive for clarity, conciseness, and strategic focus
- Depth and length can vary; impactful insight often requires fewer pages than extensive justification
Final Comments
- No official sample essays are provided to encourage creative, non-AI-driven thinking
- Successful essays often introduce unique Fintech applications or markets
- Examples from past students: crowdfunding for fisheries in Southeast Asia
Acknowledgements
Thanks to past and current students from UCL, QMUL, WBS, LBS, and RAF who have contributed questions and clarifications, including:
Thi Thanh Thao Hoàng, Zhenhao Yi, Jothi Prasand Madheswaran, Usama Elahi Khawaja, Hadia Quimmi, and others