Leveraging Competition for Innovation and Inclusive Growth

What the course covers

Module 1: Foundations of competition in Digital Financial Services (DFS) 

Discover how competition drives innovation, expands access, and supports inclusive growth in digital financial services. Learn practical approaches to assess market dynamics and competition.

Module 2: Barriers to competition in DFS idustry

Explore the underlying causes of limited competition and market power in DFS. Identify key supply and demand-side barriers, from infrastructure and regulatory challenges to market dynamics and examine how they can affect innovation, competition and inclusive growth.

Module 3: Public and financial authorities: Their role and powers to promote DFS competition

Analyse how regulators, policymakers and financial authorities can promote competition while balancing objectives such as financial stability, inclusion, and consumer protection.

Module 4: DFS competition toolkits

Discover practical tools and policy approaches to address competition challenges, including licensing, interoperability, regulatory innovation and digital infrastructure.

Module 5: Digital payments and digital money

Assess evolving business models and market dynamics in digital payments and digital money, and their impact on competition, innovation and financial inclusion. Explore policy and regulatory approaches that promote fair and competitive digital financial ecosystems.

Module 6: Digital credit and access to finance 

Evaluate how digital credit markets are evolving and how policy and regulatory approaches can support innovation, competition, and inclusive access to finance.

Module 7: Open banking and open finance 

Gain insights into how open access to financial data is reshaping markets, enabling new business models and creating opportunities for greater competition and innovation.

Module 8: BigTech and AI

Examine how BigTech and AI are transforming digital financial services and the policy approaches needed to address emerging competition opportunities and challenges.

Capstone project: Develop a practical competition initiative for your institution 

The Capstone Project is the culmination of your learning journey, giving you the opportunity to apply course concepts to a real competition challenge within your institution or jurisdiction. 

Supported by expert mentors and a global network of peers, you will develop a practical proposal aligned with your organisation’s policy, regulatory or supervisory priorities. By the end of the course, you’ll have a tangible initiative that can be refined and implemented beyond the programme. 

Your Capstone could focus on:

Competition diagnostics

Understand prevailing competition barriers or bottlenecks in one or more DFS markets.

Institutional remit and powers

Explore how your organisation can strengthen its role in promoting competition.

Competition tools

Design a policy or regulatory intervention to address a specific competition challenge. 

Competition monitoring and supervision

Develop monitoring or supervisory tools to track changes in the level of competition in one or more DFS markets. 

Cross-agency cooperation on competition

Propose mechanisms to strengthen cooperation between public and financial authorities. 

Expert mentoring and peer collaboration 

Throughout the course, you’ll receive guidance from expert mentors and collaborate with peers from public and financial authorities around the world to refine your Capstone. 

Benefits

Embark on an enriching 9-week online journey with the Leveraging Competition for Innovation and Inclusive Growth course. This course offers:

• live guest lectures from senior regulators, industry leaders, international organisations, and academics
• country-specific workshops to foster cross-institutional learning and collaboration
• hands-on tutorials involving participants from multiple countries
• capstone projects developed with guidance from CCAF tutors

You will:

• access tailored content and activities focused on selected countries, to maximise relevance and applicability
• acquire industry-leading knowledge and insights from global experts
• access the global Regulator Knowledge Exchange community platform
• develop a capstone project to drive impact within your institution and country
• earn a prestigious Certificate of Completion from Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education, University of Cambridge

Who should attend

Target audience

Senior officials and technical teams across: 

• public and financial authorities 
• central banks 
• competition authorities 
• government ministries 
• financial and capital market regulators 
• sectoral regulators 
• authorities with responsibility for digital infrastructure 

Geographic focus

The course draws on globally applicable insights and has been thoughtfully designed to meet the specific needs and contexts of professionals working in low- and middle-income countries, while also being highly relevant for a global audience.

Course leadership and speakers

The course is overseen by leading experts and academics from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School and draws on insights from global experts on the topics of digital financial services, financial regulation and competition policy.

Bryan Zhang

Co-founder and Executive Director, CCAF

Bryan is a globally recognised leader in FinTech and regulatory innovation and Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge.

Raghavendra Rau

Academic Director, CCAF

Professor Rau is an Academic Director of the CCAF, with research focused on how firms and investors acquire and use information. He has held senior academic and leadership roles, and is a recipient of the 2015 Ig Nobel Prize in Management.

Philip Rowan

Head of Competition, Fii

Philip leads the Competition programme, addressing market barriers and driving inclusive innovation. A former regulator specialising in DFS, competition policy and financial inclusion, he previously held roles at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, CGAP and the Competition and Markets Authority.

Keith Bear

Fellow and Digital Assets and Distributed Ledger Technology Expert, CCAF

Keith Bear is a Fellow at CCAF focused on research and industry collaboration in Digital Assets, AI and Fintech innovation, and chairs the Cambridge Digital Asset Research programme. Previously, he was responsible globally for the strategy, development and execution of IBM's business in Financial Markets.

Ana Odorovic

Co-Lead, Competition in Digital Financial Services, Fii

Ana has been a Research Affiliate at CCAF since 2019. She holds a PhD in Law and Economics from the University of Hamburg and has acted as a consultant on financial regulation and competition policy, including for the World Bank and the European Commission. She currently co-leads the programme on competition in digital financial services at Financial Innovation for Impact.

Eleanor Jones

Competition in DFS Specialist,Fii

Eleanor is a policy expert shaping the UK’s digital competition landscape, with experience in the FCA’s Competition Remedies team and as a Senior Policy Adviser in the Civil Service. Now part of Financial Innovation for Impact, she brings strong expertise in behavioural economics to advancing competition and innovation in financial markets.

Peter Andrews

Senior Adviser, Oxera Consulting LLP

Peter is a Research Affiliate at CCAF specialising in financial regulation and competition, and has been a Senior Adviser at Oxera Consulting LLP for the past 8 years. He is also a member of the statutory panel overseeing the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) cost-benefit analyses.

Konrad Borowicz

Assistant Professor of Financial Regulation, Tilburg University

Konrad Borowicz is an Assistant Professor of Financial Regulation at Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society, and Research Coordinator for the Tilburg Law and Economics Center. His recent work explores the nexus of finance and technology, and he previously worked as a finance lawyer in London.

Douglas W. Arner

Associate Director, Research Programmes, CCAF

Douglas is CCAF's Associate Director of Research Programmes and the Kerry Holdings Professor in Law at the University of Hong Kong. He is also an RGC Senior Research Fellow in Digital Finance and Sustainable Development, and Senior Fellow of the Asia Global Institute.

Anthea Paelo

Competition Policy Specialist

Anthea is an economist with a decade of experience in competition, regulation, and financial sector development across East and Southern Africa. She currently serves as a Competition Policy Expert at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion and is a research fellow at CCRED.

Faith Reynolds

Director, Devon Fields Consulting

Faith is a senior adviser and non-executive with expertise across retail finance, digital payments and financial inclusion. Her work focuses on leveraging industry innovation and regulatory action to drive better outcomes for consumers, and she is a member of the UK Payments Vision Engagement Group.

Rafael Mazer

Director, Fair Finance Consulting

Rafe Mazer is a leading global voice on consumer protection and competition policy in digital financial services and the digital economy. He is Director of Fair Finance Consulting, providing consumer protection and competition policy expertise to a wide range of clients and partners globally.

Bill Roberts

Fellow and Open Banking and Open Finance Expert, CCAF

Bill is a Fellow of CCAF and Advisor to the Bank of Thailand on open finance. He was previously Head of Open Banking at the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, where he led the design and implementation of the world's first open banking regulatory framework.

Hugo Coelho

Director of Policy and Advisory, Fii

Hugo oversees research and advisory work on digital assets, artificial intelligence, big tech, and climate and technology at Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii). He served as chief advisor to the President of the Eurogroup, where he was closely involved in negotiations on the Capital Markets Union, Banking Union, and other key financial regulations relevant to the Euro Area.

Vatsala Shreeti

Innovation and Digital Economy, Monetary and Economic Department, BIS

Vatsala is an Economist working with the Innovation and Digital Economy team in the research department of the Bank for International Settlements. Previously, she has held positions at the World Bank and OECD. She holds a PhD in Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics and a Masters in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Leveraging Competition for Innovation and Inclusive Growth course? 

This is a 9-week online course delivered by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. It equips digital financial services (DFS) stakeholders, particularly professionals in public and financial authorities with the analytical tools, strategic frameworks, and practical knowledge needed to identify competition barriers, design pro-competition initiatives, and drive inclusive innovation in their markets. 

Who is this course designed for? 

Senior officials and technical teams across: 

• Public and financial authorities 
• Central banks 
• Competition authorities 
• Government ministries 
• Financial and capital market regulators 
• Sectoral regulators 
• Authorities with responsibility for digital infrastructure 

Do I need a technical background to participate? 

No. The course is designed for professionals who need to understand the strategic, policy, regulatory, and supervisory aspects of competition in digital financial services. No technical or coding experience is required. 

How much time should I expect to commit? 

You should expect to spend approximately 5–6 hours per week on learning activities, live sessions, discussions, and your Capstone Project. 

What will I be able to do by the end of the course? 

By the end of the course, you will be able to: 

• explain the role of competition in digital financial services and its links to wider policy objectives  
• identify competition barriers and assess appropriate policy and regulatory responses
• analyse how emerging technologies and business models are reshaping competition
• develop a practical initiative to support competition within your institution or jurisdiction

How is the course delivered? 

The course is delivered fully online over nine weeks through weekly learning modules, live expert lectures, tutorials, country workshops, peer discussions, and a mentor-supported Capstone Project. 

In which language is the course delivered? 

The course is delivered entirely in English. All learning materials, live sessions, assessments and discussions are conducted in English. 

How much does the course cost? 

The course fee is USD 2,500. 

How can I find out more? 

If you have any questions about the course or the application process, please contact the course team at ccaf.edu@jbs.cam.ac.uk. We’re happy to discuss how the course can support your professional or organisational goals.