Fintech accelerator Archie selects the UAE as its first global launch market
Fintech accelerator Archie has chosen the UAE as its first global launch market, bringing the firm’s innovative new growth acceleration model to the region’s fast-growing fintech market.
The UAE’s Digital Economy Strategy is targeted at increasing the digital sector’s share in the UAE’s GDP from 9.7% to more than 20% by 2031. Currently, the UAE’s digital economy stands at an estimated $38 billion – by 2031, it is projected to surpass $140 billion in value.
With this ambition, the region is set to become an even more prominent part of the global fintech scene, with significant pools of investment and a strong focus on attracting some of the world’s best talent. Investor funding for fintech start-ups alone in MENAP more than quadrupled from nearly $200 million in 2020 to approximately $885 million in 2022.
Archie has therefore identified the UAE and wider GCC as a central part of the firm’s long-term ambitions to partner with some of the world’s most exciting fintechs. Led by some of the world’s leading fintech growth experts, Archie is launching with an ambition to help the UAE’s ecosystem and support the best fintechs to successfully deliver their go-to-market plans and propel their fintechs from early growth into hyper-scale.
Offering a new partner model to accelerate fintech growth, Archie will invest its intellectual capital, go-to-market and growth expertise, along with the highly-prized ARCHIE NETWORK in exchange for equity – a key differentiator with the fintech ecosystem, designed specifically to ensure a true partnership with fintech founders, aligning all interests and focussing efforts on driving success.
Archie has been founded by serial fintech entrepreneur Anthony Thomson who founded and Chaired both Atom and Metro Bank in the United Kingdom and digital bank 86 400 in Australia. Anthony currently also sits on the board of WIO Bank based in the UAE.
Archie’s senior team also includes global tech and fintech leader Steve Brennen as Co-Founder and CEO (Uber, PayPal, eBay & Zip), along with fellow Co-Founders Tommy Mermelshtayn (global scaler and strategy, Zip and Equifax) and Richard McCandless (brand and performance optimisation, FCB and Publicis Groupe).
Banking and tech veterans Fawaz Zu’bi (founder and CEO of global venture capital firm Silicon Badia) and Paul Pester (Chair of Tandem Bank, former CEO of TSB and Virgin Money globally, and founder of Loop) will also provide expertise acting as Non-Executive Directors.
Co-Founder and CEO of Archie, Steve Brennen, said, “The UAE has set out an ambition to continue to grow and be one of the leading well-regulated and forward-thinking financial services hubs.
“It’s set to be a prominent part of the global fintech scene, attracting some of the world’s best talent and global investors. Archie wants to help build on that dream and we’re thrilled to be here, and even more excited to get started in unlocking the growth potential for founders and the region as a whole.”
The Archie team, will be hosting their first SUPERSCALE event at DIFC in Dubai on Tuesday 12 September, 2023.
Archie is inviting fintech founders to attend the first SUPERSCALE event, along with leaders and investors from across the GCC fintech ecosystem, to learn from Archie’s world-leading team on the opportunities and challenges facing fintech scale-ups, and practical solutions to unleash their exponential growth. The event will be held in partnership with Wio Bank and Legal Intro.
