Fintech startup ZIPZERO has relocated its head office from London to Aberdeen as part of a plan to find the “most fertile land for UK tech”.
ZIPZERO, which raised £1m in seed funding earlier this year, is a money-saving app that offers cash rewards to users – paid for by advertisers – that customers can use to pay off recurring monthly expenses.
The startup was founded in 2021 in London, which is generally seen as one of the global centres for the fintech industry.
Despite London’s fintech prowess, ZIPZERO has identified Scotland as a hotbed for UK tech talent that can support the company as it plans its growth.
“Scotland is the most fertile land for UK tech. There are a number of programmes driving growth in the tech sector, and the connection between industry innovators and academia is particularly strong,” said Mohsin Rashid, CEO of ZIPZERO.
“This has all helped to create a thriving tech community; ideas are easy to share, inspiration is readily found, and people are excited by the prospects of innovation – we’re very excited to be here.”
The Scottish government has been keen to support the growth of the country’s tech sector, having put £42m of funding towards a scheme for Edinburgh-based Codebase to establish seven new tech scaleup hubs. One of which, Techscaler in Aberdeen, recently accepted ZIPZERO.
The move is also a boost for Scotland’s tech sector, which has been supported by £60m in financial support from the devolved government.
Scotland has a burgeoning AI, cybersecurity and fintech sector. According to FinTech Scotland, there was a 27% increase in the number of fintech companies based in the country in 2021.
“Supporting the development of innovative digital scale-up businesses is very important to the Scottish economy,” said Leah Pape, head of high growth services at Scottish Enterprise.
“That supportive environment and access to Scotland’s deep pool of tech talent were important factors in ZIPZERO’s relocation.”