Building a fintech ecosystem

The Fintech Times’ Mark Walker meets Mohammad

Alblooshi , head of DIFC Innovation Hub & FinTech Hive , to learn more about the rise of fintech in the region

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was established in 2004 to provide a platform for financial institutions and businesses to operate in a regulatory environment that meets international standards. DIFC has gone on to become a leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and has played a significant role in developing the UAE’s financial services sector.

In recent years, DIFC has put the spotlight on developing the fintech sector in the UAE, establishing several initiatives and partnerships to support the growth of fintech companies in the region. For example, it established the Fintech Hive accelerator programme, which provides mentorship and support to fintech startups in the region. It has already accelerated more than 200 start-ups to date who have collectively raised more than $530million.

DIFC also recently announced the launch of its venture building platform ‘DIFC Launchpad’ to accelerate growth of innovative startups and scaleups in the region. DIFC Launchpad expects to support the launch of over 200 new ventures in Dubai, create more than 8,000 new jobs and attract over AED2billion in venture capital as part of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) to position Dubai in the top four global financial centres.

“Innovation is at the centre of transformative change,” explains

Arif Amiri, CEO, DIFC Authority. “The DIFC Launchpad presents a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs, venture studios and corporations from around the world to access the support and resources they need to grow and succeed, powered by DIFC Innovation Hub. DIFC Launchpad is creating a platform that leverages our unique position in the ecosystem to help members identify and structure impactful partnerships, investments, and co-creation opportunities.”

DIFC’s work in fintech has helped to position the UAE as a leading fintech hub in the Middle East, as well as attracting significant investment in the fintech sector. Additionally, the DIFC’s regulatory framework has helped to create a secure and stable environment for fintech companies to operate in, which has further supported the growth of the sector.

With over seven years of experience working for the Dubai International

Financial Centre (DIFC), Mohammad Alblooshi has been instrumental in building the fintech ecosystem in the UAE. We recently caught up with the head of the DIFC Innovation Hub & FinTech Hive, to discuss fintech successes and challenges in the region.

THE FINTECH TIMES: Can you tell us more about your background and how you got involved with DIFC Innovation Hub and FinTech Hive?

MA: I have been working for the DIFC for the last seven years, prior to which I had several roles within the banking industry, working for the likes of Standard Chartered and Barclays. I started at the DIFC Authority and, in 2017, I moved over to the DIFC Innovation Hub, which was when we decided it was time to have a planned strategy around how to create a fintech ecosystem.

TFT: What were some of the key elements of this strategy?

MA: We spent a lot of time looking at various other ecosystems around the world and decided that this was where the future of DIFC needed to go in order to embrace fintech. We needed to embrace various different ideas and deal with things very, very differently. That was at the time we were working alongside the DIFC Authority and the DFSA to reduce some of the regulatory burden for fintechs to start and be set up here in the UAE.

TFT: Can you talk about some of the successes you’ve had in building the fintech ecosystem in the region?

MA: In 2017, the first use case we found was actually crowdfunding with a company called Beehive. This gave regulators an idea of how they could change some of the requirements for people to be able to crowdsource smaller amounts of investment into one larger investment pool that was then injected into a company. This started off a little bit of a drive of inquiries for people looking at DIFC as a region to base themselves in. In 2018, we had 30 companies interested in and set up, and that grew to 100 in 2019. Now, there are way over 650 currently residing in the DIFC.

TFT: What were some of the challenges you faced in building this ecosystem?

MA: In 2019, we saw that the challenge was giving fintechs access to capital at all levels of capital requirements. So, from seed investment to series A and onwards, we had to make capital available and attract VC firms, family offices, etc. to come to the DIFC and set themselves up there to supply that capital into the ecosystem. We also launched the DIFC Fintech Fund of our own and used our own capital to get the ecosystem going.

TFT: How did the Covid pandemic impact the fintech ecosystem in the region?

MA: Covid-19 saw a major change and acceleration of fintech in the region. The uptake of digital solutions and digital payments really provided an acceleration of fintech in the region. Once the Covid

DIFC Living is pretty much good to go and will start giving us extra capacity, while Innovation Two combines a little bit of working and living in the same place. Our concept of smart living where there are residences, fintech offices, and facilities all combined into one centre is quite interesting.

At the moment, our main focus is on talent, as it’s a key requirement for us as we grow and expand the ecosystem. We’re also looking at how we can support fintechs in the region to scale up and go global. So, we’re working on partnerships and collaborations with other fintech hubs and organisations around the world to provide more opportunities for our fintechs to grow and expand. Additionally, we’re looking at ways

TFT: Can you tell us about your plans for the Dubai FinTech Summit 2023 this May and why it is an important event in your calendar?

MA: The Dubai FinTech Summit is an incredibly important event for us. This year, we’re expecting 5,000 delegates and many, many speakers from around the world. The key thing is that it’s not just people from the UAE and Dubai, it’s a very international audience. We really want to use this summit as a way to showcase to the rest of the world what the UAE Dubai and DIFC have to offer, what we’ve built, how we built it, and how we’re proposing to move that into the future. We believe it’s a pivotal event to showcase our ecosystem and convince people to join us on this journey. Our ecosystem continually needs fresh new talent, fresh new ideas, and fresh things to be brought into it to actually be able to bring it forward. We believe that innovation and collaboration are the key drivers of success in the fintech industry. Without fresh ideas and new talent, the industry will stagnate and fail to meet the evolving needs of customers.

■ Register for the Dubai FinTech Summit at https:// dubaifintechsummit.com

At A Glance

WHO WE ARE: The DIFC Innovation

Hub is an important pillar of the new Dubai Future District, located in Gate Avenue and elevates DIFC’s Strategy 2030. It is home to the largest innovation ecosystem in the region and paves the way for early stage startups, growth stage startups, unicorns and Big Tech firms to accelerate success.

COMPANY: DIFC Innovation Hub

FOUNDED: 2017

CATEGORY: Fintech and Innovation threat had reduced and everyone was allowed to go back to offices, we found that people really needed and wanted a central physical space, a meeting area and networking place, a place where all elements of fintech could really come together and call themselves home. to integrate emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, and machine learning into the fintech ecosystem to create new and innovative solutions for the region.

TFT: What are some of the projects you’re currently working on?

MA: We’re currently looking at two major new projects, DIFC Living and Innovation Two – buildings that will become a major part of DIFC’s Innovation Hub.

We have also recently launched our very first Metaverse Accelerator programme which is in line with Dubai’s Metaverse strategy. We plan to on-board our cohort this June and run an eight-week intense programme to accelerate their growth and build connections within the MENA Financial and Technology ecosystems.

KEY PERSONNEL: Mohammad Alblooshi, Head at DIFC Innovation Hub & FinTech Hive

OFFICES IN: DIFC, Dubai, UAE

ACTIVE IN: Global WEBSITE: https://innovationhub.difc.ae

LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/company/ innovationhubdifc

TWITTER: @InnovHubDIFC