The Rise of FinTech in the Middle East

FinTech regulations started growing in the Gulf in 2017. With time, the region turned into a healhty environment for FinTech activities and regulations with many governments competing to become the number one FinTech hub across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

In 2019, the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets traveled to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) to discuss with professionals interested in building and marketing an ecosystem which supports innovation across the financial services sector. The institute focused mainly on the UAE and Bahrain since both of those countries receive the most VC (venture capital) investments in the area and have the most advanced regulations related to FinTech.

What the Milken Institute found was that there are three main reasons for the emerging FinTech hubs in the UAE and Bahrain. The first one being the availability of an ecosystem that is friendly to new financial alternatives, second the existence of a government that is at the center of all efforts leading to innovative projects and third, the unwavering interest of attracting international talent which acts as a catalyst for domestic innovation.