Navigating the Future of Finance: A Critical Call for Policy Action in Europe and Beyond.
Europe is facing the perfect storm. There's an urgent need for the region to redefine its regulatory stance, gain its digital sovereignty, and capitalise on untapped opportunities—while avoiding the risk of falling behind. To confront this reality, over 2,000 of the world's leading policymakers, central bankers, regulators, and industry experts are coming to The Global Finance & Technology Network's (GFTN) annual global policy gathering, the Point Zero Forum this May.
Over three days of dialogue and collaboration, we will tackle pressing challenges and explore actionable policy, finance, and technology pathways forward to drive progress in sustainability, inclusivity, innovation, and efficiency across the global financial system.
Key Themes and Questions Guiding the 2025 Dialogue
The Impact of Geopolitics, Macroeconomics and Trade On Global Policies and Use-Cases for Technology in Financial Services and Commerce
Blockchain: How can stablecoins and digital assets seamlessly integrate into regulated banking and payments to drive efficiency across the financial value chain?
Artificial Intelligence: Will Agentic AI-driven intelligent systems redefine industrial productivity and unlock new frontiers of innovation?
Green Tech: Can cutting-edge data solutions accelerate sustainability efforts by ensuring transparent disclosures and seamless compliance?
Wealth Management: How will intergenerational wealth transfer, private and public market shifts, and the demand for alternatives reshape value creation in wealth management?
GFTN Europe Deep Dive: Re-Building Europe’s Competitive Edge
Path to Europe's Technology Independence: How can Europe establish a resilient foundation of policies and infrastructure to secure its digital sovereignty?
Demographics: What innovative policies can Europe adopt to promote social and economic inclusion in the face of demographic shifts?
Startup Founders Spotlight: How are Europe’s founders shaping the future - leveraging innovation, unlocking capital, and scaling solutions that drive economic resilience and global competitiveness?
The Founders Peak
The startup landscape in Europe is at a pivotal moment. The region’s regulatory complexities and fragmented markets have made it difficult to attract capital, affecting its ability to compete as an innovator on a global scale. As the world transitions from digital to now AI-driven and onwards to a quantum economy, Europe must act decisively and speedily to recalibrate its startup ecosystem - or risk falling behind significantly.
Returning for its second edition at PZF 2025, The Founders Peak will bring exceptional startup founders who will each share their most critical lessons for building, scaling, and sustaining growth inside and from Europe. So expect raw, unfiltered stories of grit, audacity, and lived experiences that will guide European entrepreneurs on how to navigate the realities of entrepreneurship better.
Over three transformative hours, we’ll explore what it truly takes to build a thriving, globally competitive European startup ecosystem. In addition to as many as 10 individual talks from exceptional founders, over a new purpose-built dialogue series called Startup Meets Policy Dialogue, we are setting a new standard for a dialogue on startup-driven policy action and economic reinvention.
The new Swiss Venture Capital Report was published on 26 January. It analyses 304 financing rounds closed in 2020 and includes further article such as an interview with Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, and a list of Swiss "soonicorns". 
