H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Executive Office, officially graced the opening ceremony of FinTech Abu Dhabi (FinTechAD) this morning at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre,ADNEC
ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 22nd Oct, 2019) - H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Executive Office, officially graced the opening ceremony of FinTech Abu Dhabi (FinTechAD) this morning at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre,ADNEC.
Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, FinTech Abu Dhabi continues to champion innovation and entrepreneurship across financial services with the expertise of leading global and regional professionals.
Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Executive Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Global Market,ADGM, welcomed leaders, decision-makers and global experts who have gathered in Abu Dhabi to share their expertise.
Addressing the audience, he said: "It is gratifying to see the transformation of FinTech Abu Dhabi over the years to become one of the much-anticipated FinTech not only in MENA but globally. As a young nation, the UAE has advanced at an exceptional pace with transformational initiatives in many key sectors. Innovation has been a vital pillar in the UAE and Abu Dhabi's ambition and plans to establish a sustainable, digitally-driven and knowledge-based economy"
Al Sayegh revealed new findings from an ADGM-MAGNITT "MENA FinTech Venture Report" released today, highlighting FinTech as the top industry across the middle East and North Africa,MENA, region by number of deals in 2018 and 2019. He also announced the opening the ADGM digital sandbox, a cloud-based environment for FinTechs, banks and others, to co-create and test products with regulators’ guidance to deliver better services to clients to the 1st cohort of member applications. This state-of-the-art digital platform will replace the current RegLab programme. The ADGM academy is also launching a new programme focusing on Artificial Intelligence in Finance.
H.H. Sheikh Khalid also heard a keynote speech from Dr Zhou Xiao Chuan, Vice Chairman of the Bo’ao Forum for Asia and President of China Society for Finance and Banking.
Following the opening speech, H.H. Sheikh Khalid joined members of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and distinguished guests on a tour of the exhibition area where he visited the stand of Plug & Play, leading innovation platform in the Middle East.
Sheikh Khalid was accompanied by Saif Mohamed AL Hajeri, Chairman of Department of Economic Development, Eng. Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Department of Energy and a member of the Executive Council and Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.
The FinTechAD has attracted more than 5,000 global FinTech and financial participants from 75 countries including 14 unicorns. 50 best-of-the best global FinTech firms are also showcasing their most innovative and unique solutions to during the two days.
The second day of the festival also saw the 'Innovation Challenge' held in collaboration with KPMG which was an opportunity for participating companies to create solutions to real challenges facing companies.
The festival focused on key tracks of innovation, investment deals, development of financial technology centre for the Belt and Road Initiative and provide support for new projects and emerging talent in the region.
