Bahrain’s emerging role as a regional FinTech Hub to be explored in forthcoming report

Bahrain’s emerging role as a regional FinTech Hub to be explored in forthcoming report

Bahrain’s successful efforts to attract foreign direct investment for fintech innovation and other segments of the economy with high growth potential will be mapped out in a report soon to be published by the global research and advisory company Oxford Business Group (OBG).

The Report: Bahrain 2023 will track the strides being taken by the kingdom to further enhance its business environment, which helped to attract a record $1.1bn in direct investment in 2022, according to the Bahrain Economic Development Board.

It will shine a spotlight on the areas of the economy identified as ripe for development, which range from financial services and ICT to logistics, manufacturing and tourism.

Fintech’s increasing contribution to growth will be a key focal point. The report will chart the far-reaching measures introduced to support the segment’s development, which include the setting up of a regulatory sandbox and new rules for emerging technologies, such as open banking, debt- and equity-based crowdfunding, and the crypto-asset module.

To support its analysis, OBG has signed a first-time memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bahrain FinTech Bay. Under the agreement, the regional fintech hub will contribute to The Report: Bahrain 2023 and other content for the OBG’s suite of research tools.

The MoU was signed