The Manchester MBA is set to become the “go to” MBA in the UK for fintech following a GBP 2.5million donation to Alliance Manchester Business School from British fintech company Greensill. The donation will be invested solely in fintech research, teaching and learning, giving Manchester MBAs access to leading experts and a new elective in “Fintech, Digital Banking and Blockchain”.
Greensill was founded by MBA alumnus Lex Greensill (Full-time MBA 2006). The company, which is on a mission to make finance fairer and more accessible, provides financing and working capital to millions of customers all over the world. Lex has remained involved with the school since graduating and is a frequent MBA guest speaker. Greensill has also recruited a number of Manchester MBAs to senior positions and internships.
Track record in technology
This investment in fintech will boost the school’s strong track record in the technology sector. In addition to joining tech giants and start-ups around the world, an increasing number of Manchester MBAs are securing roles in fintech businesses. There is also growing interest in internships and projects related to fintech during the MBA.
A fintech hub
Manchester’s thriving fintech scene will also benefit from the school’s ambitious plans. Manchester is the fifth largest fintech city in Europe and has a long history of innovation and entrepreneurship. It was the fastest growing tech city in Europe in 2019 and has more e-commerce unicorns than any city in Europe. The wider Greater Manchester region is also home to more fintech start-ups and scale-ups than any UK region outside London.
Xavier Duran, MBA Director, Alliance Manchester Business School, commented: “We continuously update our MBA curriculum to ensure it delivers the skills that employers are looking for. Our range of electives has always included forward-looking subjects, such as disruptive technologies and big data, alongside more traditional options. We are excited to launch our fintech elective and other new technology electives, such as platform ecosystem strategy.”
Professor Markos Zachariadis, who holds the Greensill Chair in Financial Technology & Information Systems commented: “Alliance Manchester Business School and the city of Manchester should be a clear choice for fintech-focused MBAs. Since joining the school, we have managed to run seminars on fintech for MBAs and postgraduate students on topics such as open banking and blockchain technologies. There is a great amount of interest and I’ve held several calls with students who are focusing on this sector and are doing their MBA research, internships or consulting projects as part of their degree. As we’re expanding our team we are looking forward to working with talented MBA candidates in years to come and developing more electives to make them available to postgraduate students."
Find out more about the Manchester MBA.
