DIFC reaffirms position as region’s global fintech and innovation hub

DIFC reaffirms position as region’s global fintech and innovation hub

The UAE and Dubai’s globally recognised management of the pandemic, strategic investment and business-friendly structural reforms, long-term residency schemes, and innovation-enabling regulatory environment have drawn entrepreneurial talent from every corner of the world

Published: Tue 6 Dec 2022, 8:48 PM Last updated: Tue 6 Dec 2022, 8:49 PM

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Dubai has become a bridge for fintech and innovation firms seeking a gateway into the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

• More than 3,000 applications received to date for the market-leading DIFC FinTech Hive Accelerator programme

• Between January and September 2022, DIFC-based FinTech firms secured more than Dh2 billion ($559 million) of funding, according to DIFC FinTech Hive’s 2022 FinTech Report

DIFC is the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. — Supplied photo

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on Tuesday announced that during 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.

Amongst that number are graduating start-ups from this year’s DIFC FinTech Hive programme cohort. The first and largest fintech accelerator programme in the region has now attracted more than 3,000 applications from all over the world, which have