Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy (ADGMA) signed an MoU with the Abu Dhabi School of Government (ADSG) to advance talent development in Abu Dhabi. The two will offer new specialised programmes within financial technology and artificial intelligence that adopt and impelement global best practices. The two parties will also coordinate assessment and development centres, aligned with quality standards that ensure the efficient exchange of knowledge and expertise within the relevant fields. The new research-based training programmes will have an emphasis on technology-driven tools and techniques that are crucial for the future of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The launch of the programmes…

Startupbootcamp FinTech Dubai’s second cohort has completed its accelerator program featuring 10 start-ups from the UAE, Singapore, USA, India, Finland, Egypt, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon – double the number of countries represented from the first cohort, reflecting its global appeal. The program has proven to be outstanding for partner engagement, generating the highest number of Proof of Concepts (PoCs) ever, increasing from nine PoCs in 2019 to more than 40 this year. 90 per cent of the start-ups are currently scaling their solutions in the UAE from Dubai within various sectors such as digital lending, banking, payments and…

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced that Israel’s first fully digital bank, has partnered with TCS as the first customer of its Banking Service Bureau, powered by TCS BaNCS. TCS was selected by Israel’s Ministry of Finance to transform its banking sector by building a banking service bureau that would serve as a shared, plug-and-play, digital banking operations platform – powered by the TCS BaNCS Global Banking Platform – to help start-up banks launch their operations very quickly. This initiative is seen as a bid to boost competition in the financial…

Vodacom and Safaricom announce that they have completed the acquisition of the M-PESA brand, product development and support services from Vodafone through a newly-created joint venture. The transaction, which was first announced in 2019, will accelerate M-PESA’s growth in Africa by giving both Vodacom and Safaricom full control of the M-PESA brand, product development and support services as well as the opportunity to expand M-PESA into new African markets. Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO, said: “This is a significant milestone for Vodacom as it will accelerate our financial services aspirations in Africa. Our joint venture will allow Vodacom and Safaricom…

GOcardi is located in Dubai and it’s 2 million + users now can pay for services like Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Playstation, Fortnite, and many others instantly by using MenaPay. MenaPay offers a fast and secure payment experience for everyone with its extremely simple user interface. MenaPay keeps on expanding its merchant network in the MENA region. Started in 2011 in Dubai as an online store for digital items, GOcardi is popularly considered one of the first and largest online stores in the MENA region, serving more than two million consumers with digital services that cater the increasing demand of…

In these unprecedented times, I write to reassure you that the wellbeing of our community continues to be our highest priority. In alignment with the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention (MoHAP), the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the DIFC Authority is acting swiftly and efficiently to safeguard the health of our workforce, tenantsand visitors in response to the evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19). This includes increasing our cleaning schedules and thorough disinfecting of tactile areas, in compliance with local authority guidelines. In order to continue providing the best business environment, and as part of the wider…

Travelex, a Finablr company and market leading Foreign Exchange specialist, has extended its relationship with Bahrain International Airport (BIA) operating multiple outlets at the new Passenger Terminal Building. Travelex has signed a five-year contract with Bahrain Airport Company, successfully winning a tender to provide currency exchange services. Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah and Travelex Managing Director, Tom Fane signed the agreement in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Transportation & Telecommunications and BAC Chairman, Eng. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, and members of the BAC commercial team. Travelex will now operate four stores in the…

To enhance the electronic payment throughout Saudi Arabia and reduce the dependence on cash, High-tech Payment Systems (HPS) has been appointed by Saudi Payments, a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA), to provide a unified QR code platform to enable banks, wallet providers and Fintechs to interact seamlessly within an interoperable platform. This step is based on the joint partnership between the two parties, and it aims to support the continuous development of the electronic payment environment in the Kingdom. The introduction of QR codes will be an important step towards providing a universally consistent experience for…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the international financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced a record growth in 2019. The total number of firms in the Centre reached 2,437, up 14% from 2018, with a total of 32% growth since 2017. The DIFC, which attracted a record-breaking 493 new businesses in 2019, now counts 17 of the world’s top 20 banks, 8 of the 10 leading global law firms, 3 of the top 5 insurance companies and 6 of the top 10 asset managers among its clients. In total, the Centre is home to…

The University of Dubai and Krypto Labs have announced the launch of an innovation hub open for students, alumni, professors, and the community to develop their entrepreneurial skills and catalyze the growth of startups from within the university campus. The innovation hub aims to grow the next generation of all-rounded leaders who are equipped with the transferable skills for the 21st century, and who are capable of strengthening the UAE’s global position for rising technologies in line with the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). In accordance with its vision, the hub also seeks to promote entrepreneurship within…

National Bank of Fujairah PJSC (NBF) announced its partnership with Rippl to enact easy and seamless cross-border payments through the RippleNet platform. Through this blockchain solution, the bank’s customers will now be able to conduct secure and real-time payments with clear end-to-end tracking of transactions. Commenting on this development, Vince Cook, NBF’s CEO, said: “In a fast-moving environment, banks have to act with agility and constantly look for new and improved ways to service their clients. Digitisation remains a key catalyst for change and as a customer-first bank, we understand the importance of leveraging blockchain technology to deliver seamless and…

DIFC FinTech Hive, the first and largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced the expansion of the business and innovation space within the Centre. The increased physical footprint of DIFC FinTech Hive reflects the exponential growth in fintech and innovation startups and increased demand for mentorship, knowledge-sharing, funding and direct access to leading global financial institutions. The expanded space within the Centre will house a new event area playing host to events and large scale workshops, whilst the increased co-working area will accommodate additional start-ups, scale-ups and entrepreneurs, enabling them to capitalise…

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has launched “ADIB Direct eFX”, a new addition to the business-focused digital banking platform providing a simple solution for clients to secure online foreign exchange rates for international transfers and payments. The platform allows clients to avail live, competitive rates for foreign currency and execute transactions at any time and from any location. Aimed at businesses of all sizes, ADIB Direct automates many services delivering significant cost and time efficiencies. Companies benefit from one central view of ADIB’s wide range of new corporate banking features improving their ability to manage their finances locally and internationally.…

Finablr network brand BayanPay, a Saudi Arabia-based digital payment solutions provider, has been awarded a payment services provider licence by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA). Following its successful graduation from the SAMA regulatory sandbox, BayanPay will offer digital wallets, e-commerce and SME business payments gateway solutions in the Kingdom. Through BayanPay, Finablr seeks to expand its suite of digital services, offering domestic and international payments to consumers and businesses across Saudi Arabia, by leveraging its technology, industry expertise and global network. BayanPay’s portfolio of solutions currently includes: BayanPay Business: an online payments gateway services aggregator that provides an easy and…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC),has reaffirmed its commitment to Asian FinTech partnerships and advancing the Centre’s FinTech ecosystem. DIFC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tribe Accelerator, the first Singapore government supported Blockchain accelerator, to collaborate on knowledge sharing and to partner during joint events. The agreement follows DIFC Authority and DIFC FinTech Hive’s recent participation during the Singapore FinTech Festival, the largest financial technology event in the world, boosting DIFC’s profile within the region and generating ongoing business development opportunities. DIFC and Tribe Accelerator also partnered on the first Dubai edition of the Tribe Demo Day in…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Mashreq Bank announced the region’s first blockchain data sharing platform, now live in production, to support licensed businesses and corporates opening digital bank accounts instantly. In continuation of the consortium formed back in July 2019 between DIFC and Mashreq Bank, the initiative known as Know Your Customer (KYC), along with the DIFC incubated FinTech firm, norbloc, was unveiled as a market-first of its kind in the Middle East. DIFC and Mashreq took a strategic decision to harness this promising technology by focusing on a specific use case to enhance both the quality and integrity of corporate…

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced the enactment of various amendments to the FSRA’s regulations and rules concerning the authorisation and supervision of virtual asset (previously crypto asset) related activities within ADGM. The amendments are part of ADGM’s ongoing commitment to regularly update and improve its regulatory framework based on global developments, in a manner which balances risk based regulations with the needs of market participants. The key amendments include: Changing the terminology of “Crypto Asset” to “Virtual Asset”, to be aligned with the terminology used by the Financial Action Task Force, the…

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, MBZUAI, the first graduate-level, research-based AI university in the world, held its first official Advisory Board meeting to review ongoing activities as the University gears up to welcome its first class of graduate students in September 2020. In a press statement today MBZUAI said applications into its MSc and PhD programmes for 2020 that include Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision, are going through the vetting process “with over 1,000 applications reviewed and in the final stage,” before acceptance is finalised. During the meeting, Advisory Board members discussed the importance…

Governments across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) spent a combined $12.8 billion on information and communication technologies (ICT) last year, according to the latest findings from International Data Corporation (IDC). The global technology research and consulting firm expects this figure to continue rising over the coming years at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%, crossing the $15 billion mark by 2023. Digital transformation (DX) initiatives will be responsible for driving much of this growth in the MEA region, with government spending in this space forecast to increase at a CAGR of 17.6% over the 2019-2023 period. A key…

DMCC – the free zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – has signed a strategic membership agreement with Al Khaleej Sugar and Universa Blockchain that sees DMCC Tradeflow support the development of a new sugar trading platform in Dubai. The platform under development will enable traders to purchase, store, and trade the sugar of Al Khaleej Sugar through smart contracts on a blockchain technology provided by Universa. The DMCC Tradeflow platform will act as the central registry of ownership of the sugar through enforceable warrants to prove existence of reserves, and enable secure and transparent…