Event: What will the FinTech Innovation Hub mean for Delaware’s growing ecosystem?

The FinTech Innovation Hub, a $38 million Delaware Technology Park project that is currently under construction on the University of Delaware’s Science Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus, is on track for a late 2021 opening.

In February, the building of the six-story, 100,000-square-foot structure reached its midpoint, to low-key COVID-era fanfare. But the hub, a public-private partnership between Delaware Technology Park, UD and Discover Bank, which will be a tenant in the new building, is highly anticipated, to be sure.

Once open, the FinTech Innovation Hub will offer spaces for startups, with access to business development resources and technical assistance, as well as labs and centers associated with UD’s College of Engineering and Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. The space will also include a Delaware Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and aims to be be a resource for financial technology companies and organizations, both connected with UD and from the wider community.

If all of that sounds like something you’d like to know more about, Tech Forum — which recently added entrepreneur and advocate Garry Johnson III to its board of directors — will hold a free virtual discussion on the topic on Wednesday, April 28, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. The talk will define fintech (that’s short for financial technology) and discuss the fintech ecosystem growth and the impact it has on Delaware, as well as details about the new building.

The speakers will be:

• J. Michael Bowman, associate director of UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships; state director of the Delaware SBDC; and founder and president of the Delaware Technology Park
• Amy Walls, principal of community reinvestment at Discover Bank, who manages community development activities to support the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act compliance, including charitable giving and service activities in Delaware

The 90-minute event will include networking. Register here.