Sustainable Finance: Addressing the SDGs through Fintech and Digital Finance solutions in EU

In the last 20 years, the increasing of inequalities, climate change and its consequences, conflicts and instability are undermining the peace and well-being of people worldwide. For this reason, international organizations, big corporations, governments and individual citizens have started to tread a new path, towards a Sustainable Development in order to ensure a future for the next generations. The mobilization of limited financial resources towards sustainable development programs is one of the biggest challenges of our times. Traditional financial models and instruments have failed to keep up with the current challenges, one clear example is the financial crises of the 2008 with the disastrous consequences caused by it. Since the technological revolution brought by the ICT, the pace of innovation has been increasing exponentially year by year. Innovations such AI, IoT, Big Data, Machine Learning, blockchain are disrupting every kind of industry and business. In the financial world the combination of financial innovation with technologically advanced solutions has a specific name “Fintech”. Fintech and Digital finance solutions are creating innovative alternatives to traditional financial instruments in all of the areas and sectors, from personal banking to wealth management. One of the main implications of the development of Fintech, is about the grow of the Sustainable Finance eco-system with the rise of numerous applications dealing with energy efficiency, financial inclusion, democratization of investments and mobilization of financial flows towards sustainable projects. The aim of this research paper is to assess the implications of fintech for a sustainable development and to understand how those solutions are addressing the Sustainable Development Goals in European Union. In order to answer to the research questions, we will proceed with an in-depth analysis of three case studies with the addition of expert interviews and industry analysis. The results of the research will help to better identify the opportunities, risks and barriers that the diffusion of fintech might have on the sustainable development.