Symfio in Budapest: the future of corporate finance is being written across borders

In June we presented Symfio at the Venture & FinTech MeetUp in Budapest. The event, organised by CzechTrade together with the Czech Embassy, connected the Czech and Hungarian fintech ecosystems and showed that demand for modern financial management crosses borders.

International expansion and connecting Central European markets are key to the development of modern financial management. The meetup was organised by the Czech Embassy in Budapest together with CzechTrade’s regional office, with financial support from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Two days of discussions and presentations

The official programme kicked off at the Czech Embassy, where participants were welcomed by the Czech Ambassador Eva Dvořáková. The round-table panel discussion that followed brought together representatives of the Czech Fintech Association and the Hungarian Fintech Association with leading regional funds and institutions such as PortfoLion, STRT Holding and Revolut Business. Before the business meetings began, CzechInvest representatives presented an analysis of the regulatory readiness of Czech startups.

We had the chance to present Symfio three times, on stage and at the round tables. We showed how we efficiently replace hours of manual reporting in Excel with automated planning, analysis and a direct connection to accounting data. The concept “A symphony in finance, by CFOs for CFOs” met with great interest from both multinational groups and smaller expanding companies.

The second day of the mission brought a detailed look at the Hungarian market thanks to presentations by the Hungarian National Bank and the law firm Visegrad Legal. The programme also included a visit to Budapest Fintech Summer Talks and the evening HVCA Equity Thursday event, hosted by the Hungarian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Why Hungary is a strategic opportunity for us

Meeting investors and partners in person confirmed several key points for us:

• The right timing for a scale-up: Discussions with the Hungarian associations suggest that the local market is several years behind the Czech one in digitalising financial processes. For Symfio, it is an ideal opportunity to bring proven technology to a market that is starting to ask for it.
• A universal need for automation: Demand for tools that genuinely save time for CFOs and their teams knows no borders. Companies in Prague and Budapest struggle with inefficient spreadsheet reporting in exactly the same way.
• Personal contact is irreplaceable: Meetings held directly at the embassy opened doors to partnerships that could not have been reached through online communication.

Many thanks for the excellent organisation and logistical support of the whole mission go to Adam Havel, Lucie Schaffelhoferová and the whole CzechTrade team, and to Pavla Kačenová from the economic section of the embassy in Budapest. It was an honour to represent the Czech fintech scene alongside brands such as Comgate, Citfin and Finbricks.

For Symfio, this mission to Budapest was only the beginning of long-term activities in the CEE region.