100+ Fin-Tech Firms Registered in Dubai’s International Financial Centre in September
Registered firms at DIFC have grown three times as much since last year.
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announces the mark of a significant milestone of having registered over 100 Fin-Tech firms in the centre, as of September 2019. The statement reveals a three-fold growth in registered firms compared to the previous year’s effort, signifying a sharp rise and asserting DIFC’s spot as a prominent international and region Fin-Tech hub.
“The significant rise in the number of registered Fin-Tech firms establishing a presence at the centre highlights our sustained efforts to transform the region’s financial technology ecosystem and drive sustainable economic growth,” says Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority.
Recently, the firms that have been showing interest by the centre across various markets and industries include UK’s digital banking giant Bankable, Hong Kong’s QFPay and local startups such as Alipay and Wepay.
Additionally, many of DIFC’s Fin-Tech startups have received the Innovative Testing License (ITL) offered by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) including Sarwa, the region’s first digital financial advisor, TokenMarket, a blockchain-based tokenisation platform, and more. The centre’s impressive growth process has allowed for the hub to double in size from over 80 to 200 companies in the last six months.
“It’s a reflection of our commitment to reinforcing Dubai’s position as one of the world’s top ten Fin-tech hubs. We aim to continue this momentum and growth through our evolving regulatory environment and the quality of collaborators we bring into the DIFC, as our vision of driving the future of finances becomes a reality,” adds Amiri.
A variety of subsidized licensing options and access to a dedicated FinTech fund of $100 million managed by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Wamda Capital, who have both proven attractive and efficient for Fin-tech based startups in the centre. Together, all of their excellent efforts have created a stable ecosystem that allows for growth, expansion and innovation within Dubai’s bustling hub which, by the way, includes Google’s biggest offices in the MENA.
