The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s largest event aimed to bring innovation in financial services, the FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, kick-started last day to address the surging demand for digital payments solutions and other technology services in the wake of coronavirus.
The event held online due to the pandemic will have the participation of a number of senior officials, bankers and investors including the governor of the central bank of the UAE (CBUAE) Abdulhamid Alahmadi and Ahmed Al Sayegh, minister of state and chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The public events of the FinTech festival will only start today.
The 2020 edition of the FinTech event will also have Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair (chairman of the UAE Banks Federation), Vanessa Colella (chief innovation officer at Citigroup), Edward Knight (vice-chairman of Nasdaq) and Nadya Hijazi (global head of digital at HSBC) to share their insights on the current condition of the financial service around the globe.
Abdulhamid M. Saeed Alahmadi Governor CBUAE
“The FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival provides a glimpse into the future of the financial services industry by showcasing the innovative and creative developments of the industry in the past year. These developments have underlined the power technology harnesses in improving the way we conduct business. We are also beginning to witness the emergence of unicorn start-ups in the UAE, further reinforcing the UAE’s position as a leading FinTech destination.”
In line with Abu Dhabi’s aim to diversify its economic strategy, the emirate has been boosting its investments in startups that intend to bring innovative solutions. Last year, the government had set up an international technology center, Hub71 at ADGM and had started to procure finance through its $145 million venture fund.
Following, the UAE’s vision to position the country as an international hub for financial sector innovation and growth, Abu Dhabi’s has always prioritized to constantly develop an ecosystem that would nurture entrepreneurship as well as creativity in the FinTech space, Mr. Alahmadi further added.
The pandemic has created an urgent demand for digital payments and other financial technology solutions worldwide as more people have started to rely on online banking services to transfer money and the event will keep its key focus on it.
This year’s Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival is hosted in partnership with Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an.
