Fintech becomes fastest growing sector in Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, has continued to attract exceptional interest from financial technology firms, making fintech the Centre’s fastest growing sector.
Client growth continues to be strong across all sectors, however, interest from fintechs in the Centre has outpaced other sectors. This has been further amplified by DIFC’s strong schedule of impactful events and international roadshows that have showcased Dubai’s status as a preferred global fintech and innovation hub.
A DIFC delegation is currently in Singapore (pictured above), at the Singapore Fintech Festival, exploring collaboration opportunities and finalising commitments from firms in Asia. As a Silver Sponsor of the event and the only sponsor from the region, DIFC is illustrating its role as the most enabling platform in MEASA for fintech firms, helping start-ups, global players and unicorns to expand their global reach and capture opportunities in fast-growing MEASA markets. Between January and September 2022, DIFC-based fintech firms secured over AED 2 billion (USD 559 million) of funding.
Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, is leading the DIFC delegation. During the visit, the delegation is highlighting Dubai’s position as a leading financial centre and global fintech hub whose financial technology firms have access to education; entrepreneurship and accelerator programmes; mentoring and networking; operating and regulatory licences; access to funding and expertise through venture studios.
DIFC is committed to shaping the future of finance by introducing initiatives aligned to its 2030 strategy that continues to attract fintech businesses and talent to Dubai at an unprecedented pace. In the first nine months of 2022, the number of fintech and innovation firms joining DIFC exceeded the total that established operations during the whole of 2021.
Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said, “Dubai and DIFC have built the most comprehensive fintech and innovation proposition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. This has helped us become one of the world’s leading hubs for the sector and we are thrilled that DIFC is attracting high levels of interest from fintechs in Asia. DIFC will continue to develop initiatives to further differentiate our strong reputation for fintech, some of which we are looking forward to announcing soon.”
According to DIFC FinTech Hive’s 2022 FinTech Report, the market attained a value of more than USD 135.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% in the forecast period of 2022-2027 to reach over USD 266.9 billion by 2027. Funding activity for fintech nearly doubled in 2021 and start-ups in MENA raised USD 998 million in 2021, a 78% increase from 2020.
