Technology meets finance: How FinTech’s in Bahrain are creating opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa

The recent burgeoning growth of FinTech’s in Bahrain is diversifying Bahrain’s economy and creating extensive opportunities for the consumer, while establishing the kingdom as a regional leader in digital economic growth and development.

3

October

  • 3PM London / 10AM New York
  • Free
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Why attend?

In February 2019, the Central Bank Bahrain (CBB) finalised rules for regulating and licensing crypto asset services. The Kingdom also introduced rules and regulations pertaining to crowdfunding and sustainable finance in addition to their 2018 policy, which mandated all banks to adopt open banking, making Bahrain the first country in the GCC to do this. The same year, Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) was established to attract the ‘best-in-class’ global FinTech’s.

Since 2018 there has been significant development in the digital economy. The BFB has successfully provided a launch pad for the growth and development of more than 90 tech companies. It has allocated tens of thousands of dollars in prize money and aided the procurement of more than $100m in funding for its members. Citi has also invested in the region, establishing its first Global Technology Hub in the region in Bahrain in partnership with the Bahrain Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) which is on track to employ 1,000 Bahraini coders over ten years.

In this webinar, we will identify why Bahrain has been such a successful hub for the growth of FinTechs and what makes it a regional leader. We will also discuss how it has put Bahrain on the map and what opportunities it can offer both companies and consumers, encouraging future investment, innovation and growth as a lead up to FinTech Forward 2023 (FF23), an exclusive event that will unite a diverse network of FinTechs, Financial institutions, investors, thought-leaders and industry experts in Bahrain from 10-12th October to further solidify the Kingdom as a destination for all things FinTech.

We will also address how this all falls under the country’s wider Economic Recovery Plan, which intends to develop strategic priority sectors including the telecommunications, ICT and digital economy sector with a strategy focused on supporting the digital economy, enhancing e-governance and developing Bahrain’s digital capacity as well as employing 20,000 Bahrain nationals and providing training for 10,000 Bahrainis annually by 2024. If you would like an insight into how Bahrain is leading fintech innovation in the Middle East and North Africa and what this will mean for customers and companies, register now for this webinar.

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Supported by insight from Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)

Speakers

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Michel Sawaya
Chief Executive Officer, Citi Bahrain

Michel Sawaya was appointed as the Citi Country Officer of Citi Bahrain with effect from 5th of May 2021.

Prior to this appointment and since April 2016 Michel was the CCO and Head of Corporate Banking for Citi Lebanon He joined Citi in October 1995 as part of a team responsible for the re-establishment of the franchise in the country Since that time, he has held several positions in Operations Technology and Internal Controls before moving to Treasury Trade Solutions in June 2006 he expanded that role to become Head of TTS for Levant Cluster in 2010 In 2013 Michel was appointed as Head of Corporate Banking in addition to his role as the Lebanon TTS Head He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the American University of Beirut.

As part of Michel’s community involvement, he is a Board Member at the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain and Injaz Junior Achievement Bahrain, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through hands on training programs He also is a board member at the Bahrain International School Association.

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Dalal Buhejji
Executive Director – Business Development (Financial Services), EDB Bahrain

Dalal Buhejji is an Executive Director in Business Development at the Bahrain Economic Development Board
(EDB), responsible for attracting new inward investment opportunities to Bahrain’s Financial Services sector
through international outreach.

With a career spanning over 16 years, Dalal has worked heavily in the financial services industry and has closely
engaged with key stakeholders such as the Central Bank of Bahrain to create a business friendly environment for
businesses and investors in Bahrain. This work has led to the introduction of Bahrain’s Regulatory Sandbox,
number of new regulations such as crowdfunding, open banking, crypto assets, and the launch of Bahrain
Fintech Bay, one of the MENA’s leading fintech hubs.

Dalal has Bachelor’s in Business Administration from George Washington University and a Master of Business
Administration from DePaul University.

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Glenn Barklie
Principal Economist

Glenn Barklie is chief economist at Investment Monitor and head of FDI services at Global Data Media. He was previously with Financial Times, where he was the head of benchmarking services for fDi Intelligence. With almost 15 years’ experience in FDI and economic development, he has worked with many government agencies and corporates, specialising in location benchmarking, rankings and investment trends as well as managing FDI databases.

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Lauren Holtmeier
Commercial Editor, GlobalData

Lauren Holtmeier is an editor with GlobalData and former chief reporter of Dubai-based Arabian Business.

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