Riyadh, Bahrain among world’s top FinTech ecosystems to watch: Report

Riyadh, Bahrain among world’s top FinTech ecosystems to watch: Report

MANAMA — Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh have been named among the world's top FinTech ecosystems to watch, according to a major new report.Research organization Startup Genome analyzed dozens of countries across the globe based on factors including funding, exits, talent and focus as well as ecosystem players including policymakers and founders.Bahrain and Riyadh were the only two GCC locations named in the report as FinTech ecosystems to watch alongside 11 other emerging destinations including Japanese capital Tokyo, Melbourne in Australia and Germany's Frankfurt. In the wider Middle East region, Cairo was also included in the list.Key benefits highlighted included wage subsidy programs from Bahrain's Labour Fund (Tamkeen), a liberal 0% corporate and personal tax regime as well as the government's $11.3 billion COVID-19 stimulus package to support businesses during the global pandemic.Riyadh's focus on the rapidly growing e-commerce sector, fueled by a digitally savvy population and a strong logistics sector, resulted in the Saudi Arabian capital being listed as a FinTech