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This article studies the business strategy of digital financial platforms and creation of ecosystems. The authors assume the general methodological approach of grounded theory to study four cases of financial technology platforms from Russia; the sample represents companies focusing both on solutions for the front end (consumers) and back end (middle of the value chain). The research finds that the top executives of the companies, which create and operate the digital platforms, have an approach to business strategy that is significantly different from that of the traditional business. They defy the pragmatism of predicting the market development and planning the company's actions in accordance with such predictions. Strategic paradigm of these companies is based on the notions of inclusivity, dynamism, and reliance on independent participants of a business ecosystem. Though a radical departure from the traditional business strategy, such an approach has brought demonstrable business success across the time span of a decade. The idea of "platform-ecosystem" can also be fruitful as a tool of solving important socioeconomic issues such as financial inclusion in the emerging markets.

This chapter discusses the important socioeconomic role of financial technologies in the emerging market which is Russia today. While the issues of financial inclusion are of recognized importance for the developing markets, until recently they were seen largely as areas of affirmative regulatory action, not of competitive play by private market actors. However, the advent of fintech companies changes the paradigm. Many fintech companies in Russia view the gaps in financial inclusion as attractive market niches and formulate relevant consumer offers. This chapter reviews their strategic approaches based on the study of five business cases, and introduces an analytical matrix mapping the approaches to existing inclusivity gaps. The model strengthens the existing policy aimed at developing financial inclusion as it allows a targeted cost-benefit analysis of market players' actions. As Russia demonstrates many of the financial inclusivity challenges seen in other countries, the findings of this chapter have certain applicability in the context of both emerging and advanced economies.

This chapter discusses the important socioeconomic role of financial technologies in the emerging market which is Russia today. While the issues of financial inclusion are of recognized importance for the developing markets, until recently they were seen largely as areas of affirmative regulatory action, not of competitive play by private market actors. However, the advent of fintech companies changes the paradigm. Many fintech companies in Russia view the gaps in financial inclusion as attractive market niches and formulate relevant consumer offers. This chapter reviews their strategic approaches based on the study of five business cases, and introduces an analytical matrix mapping the approaches to existing inclusivity gaps. The model strengthens the existing policy aimed at developing financial inclusion as it allows a targeted cost-benefit analysis of market players' actions. As Russia demonstrates many of the financial inclusivity challenges seen in other countries, the findings of this chapter have certain applicability in the context of both emerging and advanced economies.

This article focuses on the impact of the financial sector on inclusive, sustainable development. The paper aims to study the impact of the fintech industry and financial inclusion on the development of the financial system to achieve the UN SDGs. We discussed various approaches to the content of the “fintech” and “ecosystem” terms and offered an interpretation of the term “financial inclusion”. We used comparative and system analysis methods to study the publications of many authors who found that a developed and inclusive financial system affects the reduction of poverty and inequality, welfare and employment, consumer market, economic growth, sustainable development, etc. At the same time, we showed variants of the relationship between increased access to financial services and financial stability, which can both be positive and negative. The state of the financial services market in Russia, which ranks high in various ratings in terms of financial inclusion, is described in detail. Further, we considered the barriers to the growth of financial inclusion in Russia and ways to overcome them. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of its use in the development of key areas of financial market development. Next, more attention needs to be paid to regulatory influences on consumer behaviour in selecting services and their providers.