Viaka #15 - Exploring the Fintech ecosystem in MENA
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Hi everyone, this week, we’re giving a brief overview of Fintech in MENA. Enjoy!
66.7% of banking executives believe that non-traditional financial firms (fintech companies) will impact mobile payment and wallet services worldwide in the coming years, according to Statista. With large segments of traditional banking’s most powerful leaders taking note of the influence of Fintech, the industry’s rapidly-expanding startup ecosystem has developed in the MENA region.
The MENA region has seen a high-speed acceleration of fintech startups since 2017. This year, there are an estimated 465 fintech companies; in 2017, there were a mere 30. The capital follows this growing trend towards fintech as Wamda reports $176M raised across 42 deals in May of 2022 alone.
Within the region, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE lead the pack in investment and innovation. For example, Saudi-based fintech startup HyperPay raised $36.7 million in a round led by Mastercard in May.
In Africa, fintech also plays a dominant part in the startup landscape. According to MAGNiTT, fintech accounts for 60% of all startup investment activity in the first half of 2022, and accounted for 62% of startup investment in 2021. The folks over at TechCabal recently published a newsletter in which they argue that fintech dominates Africa’s VC landscape because it is “the one layer of Africa’s infrastructure gap that technology can abstract away into code, data centres, and mobile phones”. These same infrastructure gaps may exist to an extent in the Middle East as well, but this has not stopped governments from promoting fintech investment.
MENA governing bodies have been embracing the rise of fintech innovation. For instance, in 2021, the UAE launched the DIFC Innovation Hub, which houses 500 growth-stage tech startups in the region’s first fintech and innovation community. The Innovation Hub is part of the roadmap of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, towards an innovation-based economy in Dubai.
In 2018, the Saudi Central Bank launched Fintech Saudi in collaboration with the Capital Market Authority. Fintech Saudi aims to support Saudi Arabia’s fintech innovation by growing the industry, developing talent, and providing support to entrepreneurs. Fintech Saudi currently has 82 members and 54 partners.
In the next few years, fintech companies and startups will continue to produce innovative products that transform the financial industry – the MENA fintech ecosystem appears poised to capitalize on these advances. However, as each MENA nation has its own regulatory environment, startups will need to manage their growth with necessary legal compliances.
Promising Opportunities from Our MENA Partners
Below are a list of opportunities curated from the Viaka’s MENA partners.
For Founders
Plus.vc invests in early-stage founders (up to Series A) that have a MENA background or connection, but are founding their companies outside of MENA.
For Investors
For Advisors
Klangoo, an AI-startup providing Natural Language Processing (NLP) to media and software companies, is looking for an advisor familiar with NLP use cases in the world of financial services, particularly in underwriting and risk management. This opportunity can be compensated.
If you would like to get involved with any of the opportunities above, please fill out the form below and indicate what opportunity you are interested in in the “Reason for Joining” section.
Exciting Announcements From Our Network
Below is a list of updates, wins, and asks emanating from members of the Viaka Network in the “West.”
Registration for Fintech Surge, a conference being held in Dubai on all things financial technology, is now open. The conference occurs from 10-13 October 2022 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, alongside other GITEX Global events such as North Star Dubai and Marketing Manie. The events include guest speakers, startup advising, and other opportunities to get more involved in the Fintech community. Learn more here!
Startup Boston has launched the registration of its five-day Startup Boston Week. The program will be held from September 19-23rd, 2022, and will have over 80 events and 250 speakers. The week is geared towards anyone with an interest in startups, with resources to connect, scale, and celebrate the community. Sessions featured include topics geared towards first-time founders, startup employees, advisors, and more. Sign up here!
If you’re a member of our Network and would like to share your own update next week, email info.viaka@gmail.com or submit an update via this form.
That’s it for this week. Thank you!
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