It’s no secret that Asia is home to some of the world’s most advanced fintech markets, and they’re looking to make an ambitious move with the help of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Fintechs from Singapore and wider Asian markets are looking to establish themselves in DIFC and make sizeable investments in our ecosystem.
The fintech expansion
Sheer market size and high adoption of digital financial services have seen the Asia-Pacific landscape advance rapidly across both its younger and more mature economies. As they’ve progressed, however, global macroeconomic conditions are driving them to seek new opportunities to scale beyond their regional borders and into new economies with demand for ambitious fintech products and services.
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The fast-growing Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) market consists of 72 countries, more than three billion people and a nominal GDP of US$7.7 trillion. These statistics sum up DIFC’s strategic importance as a preferred gateway for businesses with innovative financial services technologies continues to grow.
Just as Singapore serves as the hub for ASEAN nations, Dubai is their bridge to expand reach and capture opportunities in our emerging geographies, but with a familiarity that aligns with their sophisticated multi-national environments.
That’s why, in 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) signed a fintech agreement that allows referrals of innovative businesses between the two authorities.
This agreement reflects the commitment and collaborative spirit of both regulators to support the continuous development of fintech and innovation to deliver new and enhanced financial services to manage risks better, reduce costs and increase efficiency.
In fact, some of Singapore’s top financial institutions already have their regional head offices in Dubai, including DBS Bank Ltd., Bank of Singapore Limited, Taurus Wealth Advisors Limited, Lighthouse Canton Capital (DIFC) Pte Ltd, Uti International (Singapore) Private Limited, and Singalliance Pte Ltd). Singaporean fintech, such as WeInvest, has participated in DIFC’s fintech Accelerator programme.
The latest hotspot
Over the last two years or so, Dubai has been attracting exceptional interest from fintechs across the globe for a variety of reasons. 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.
Widely, the UAE’s globally recognised management of the pandemic, strategic investment and business-friendly structural reforms, long-term residency schemes, and innovation-enabling regulatory environment has drawn entrepreneurial talent from every corner of the world.
In particular, the UAE has introduced various new long-term visa options and incentives for tech entrepreneurs and professionals to develop the country’s technology sector such as the Golden Visa programme offering 10-year residencies and the five-year Green Visa for freelance professionals.
The UAE is a stable, thriving and globally ranked talent hub. The nation ranked number one in MENA and #22 globally in the 2020 INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness index. The country holds the top spot for ease of doing business in MENA while filling the time-zone gap between East and West, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 Report. Dubai also ranks in the top three best cities for ex-pats to live in globally, along with Miami and Lisbon.
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Within DIFC, our comprehensive fintech and innovation proposition has created unparalleled opportunities for success for startups, global players and unicorns.
Our continually growing support ecosystem includes access to education, entrepreneurship and accelerator programmes, mentoring and networking, operating and regulatory licenses, and funding and expertise through venture studios – all under one cost-effective roof – presenting the ultimate platform to innovate and scale.
As more rigid governments struggle to reconcile legacy systems with the new age, DIFC’s progressive business-friendly and innovation-enabling regulatory regime, along with Dubai’s general openness and encouragement for innovation, is most appreciated by disruptors.
This approach means that they can engage in meaningful dialogue with regulators directly to look at ways to collaboratively consult on new models that may define the future of finance.
As a global capital for financial services and a leading hub for financial technology and innovation, our centre is also a space with significant access to sources of capital that have a greater appetite for risk and innovative and inclusive business models.
Between January and September 2022, DIFC-based fintech firms secured over AED2 billion (US$559 million) of funding, according to DIFC fintech Hive’s 2022 fintech Report.
Funding activity for fintech nearly doubled in 2021, and startups in MENA raised $998 million in 2021, a 78 per cent increase from 2020.
Most importantly, even as client growth continues to be strong across all sectors, fintech is now DIFC’s fastest-growing sector, outpacing all other sectors.
As we remain firmly committed to developing initiatives to further differentiate our strong reputation for fintech, we are looking forward to welcoming the influx of innovation and talent from Asia’s fintechs into our region and sharing their entrepreneurial spirit to help shape the future of finance.
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