Dubai Fintech Summit 2024: How the UAE is fostering fintech innovation
This week, I had the opportunity to attend the Dubai Fintech Summit, a conference with an attendance of more than 8,000 people from 118 different countries and more than 300 exhibitors – this truly puts it as one of the top global fintech conferences.
There is a huge sense of urgency, commitment and purpose behind fintech in the UAE
Of course, there were a number of key industry figures speaking, including Arif Amiri, CEO of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), and Ian Johnstone, chief executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). But I was surprised to see a truly international set of speakers, including governors from Kenya, Rwanda, Cambodia and Hungary as well as the mayor of Seoul.
There was also the classic mix of fintech and banking heavyweights like Revolut’s Nik Storonsky and Antony Jenkins of 10x, among others. It’s safe to say that the truly global set of speakers was impressive.
At the conference, I had the chance to speak with Mohammad Alblooshi, CEO of the DIFC Innovation Hub, who highlighted just how much the conference had grown since last year, when it had 5,000 attendees and 100 exhibitors.
I asked if the UAE’s big push into fintech was in reaction to fintech’s success in other countries like the UK. Mr Alblooshi said that the UAE’s strategy was to watch, learn and follow hard, and that taking the best learnings from other countries to develop its own trailblazing ecosystem was very purposeful.
He also advised that the country’s approach was to focus on quality over quantity. It is very clear to me that actions speak louder than words here, and this is something that stems from the government and spans across sectors. For me, the best example of this was the announcement in 2021 that the country would move from a Sunday to Thursday working week to a more global norm of Monday to Friday. Industry was given three weeks’ notice to adapt.
The UAE already has 7 million people – out of a population of 9 million – using digital identity for everything from accessing government services to opening bank accounts. Indeed, Jayesh Patel, CEO of Wio Bank, claims bank accounts can be opened in minutes because of this. Wio Bank itself, even more impressively, is now already profitable despite only launching 18 months ago.
I also managed to speak to two of the founders of Stake, Rami Tabbara and Mani Mahmassani, who are both co-CEOs. Stake is a fast-growing fintech that provides a platform to enable fractional investment in properties in Dubai, with plans to expand into other countries.
The co-founders were clear that regulators and the government were key to making their venture possible. For example, fintechs are allowed to receive funding from outside the UAE, and Stake’s largest group of non-domestic investors come from the UK and USA. Investors with portfolios of over AED 2 million (about £430,000) can also receive 10-year golden visas. The government has a few different methods for issuing golden visas to attract foreign investment, companies and talent. This to me is not only a purposeful strategy, but from the companies I have met, a strategy that is clearly working.
I also met with two of the founders of venture capital company VentureSouq, Sonia Gokhale and Tammer Qadummi. Their VC firm was the first in the region to focus on fintech. They again independently confirmed what I had heard from others that the regulators have played a key role in bringing in talent and fostering fintech innovation while not compromising on quality and ensuring rules are in place to safeguard consumers and businesses.
One other factor that seemed consistent across all my conversations was that both the government and industry feel strongly about the region becoming a major global player in fintech and are willing to strongly back their convictions. For example, Alpheya, a start-up building a SaaS wealth platform, recently raised $300 million from BNY Mellon and Abu Dhabi-based Lunate – a global alternative investment management company.
This week, I’m just saying that what I have seen, heard and felt here at the Dubai Fintech Summit is a huge sense of urgency, commitment and purpose behind fintech. This is something that has been initiated by government, supported by regulators and is being capitalised on by industry.
It does make me question, however, why my home country, the UK, is lagging behind when it comes to the basic building block of digital identity, and whether our commitment to technology is more focused on marketing than tangible actions and achievements.
About the author
Dharmesh Mistry has been in banking for more than 30 years both in senior positions at Tier 1 banks and as a serial entrepreneur. He has been at the forefront of banking technology and innovation, from the very first internet and mobile banking apps to artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).
He has been on both sides of the fence and he’s not afraid to share his opinions.
He founded proptech start-up AskHomey (sold to a private investor in spring 2023) and is an investor and mentor in proptech and fintech. He also co-hosts the Demystify Podcast.
Follow Dharmesh on X @dharmeshmistry and LinkedIn.
Read all his “I’m just saying” musings here.
