FinTech Abu Dhabi, MENA’s leading FinTech festival, hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM),the award-winning international financial centre, is pleased to announce that its global FinTech tour will be reaching even more cities ahead of the main event in Abu Dhabi in October 2019.

The FinTechAD Tour, which is co-organised by the ADGM and Unbound, is visiting global financial hubs to identify the most exciting FinTech start-ups and talent in the world today. New tour dates have been added to the global itinerary including:

·         Frankfurt, 9^th September

·         Milan, 10^th September

·         Luxembourg, 12^th September

·         Amman, 15^th September

·         Cairo, 16^th September

·         Riyadh, 17^th September

·         Casablanca, 19^th September

The winners of each leg of the FinTechAD Tour will form part of the FinTech 50 which includes pitching their solutions to an international audience of financial institutions, regulators, corporates and media at ADGM's flagship event in October (21-23) - FinTech Abu Dhabi (FinTechAD). FinTech 50 firms can also enter the FinTechAD Innovation Challenge where FinTech firms are selected to solve real industry issues and problem statements affecting Abu Dhabi and the region. Selected winners of the FinTechAD Innovation Challenge will also benefit from the opportunity to relocate their business to Abu Dhabi and qualify for various entrepreneur support programmes, funding schemes, and collaborative projects with corporate champions to scale and deploy their solutions out of Hub71 – the tech hub in ADGM.

The winners of the completed FinTechAD Tour stages to date, who have secured their places at the FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival are:

Europe:

·         UK: StepLadder – a collaborative digital savings tool that allows member users to save as a group towards their property deposit

Middle East and Africa :

·         Rwanda: Akokanya – an online ticketing platform for event management and Exuus – a FinTech start up that leverages the power of collective saving and credit scoring models to achieve financial inclusion

Asia :

·         China: Joint Winners: Swiftpass & Allinpay.  Swiftpass is a one-stop service to meet the diversified, multi-scenario, multi-terminal payment needs of customers by aggregating international payment methods. Allinpay offers a payment solution designed to aggregate the majority of online and offline payments tools and services

·         Singapore: Deepscope – an AI and machine learning tool that analyses the entire stock market to deliver quality stocks for investors, brokers and funds

Central Asia :

·         Azerbaijan: Cryptoyote – an AI-powered platform for cryptocurrency traders

·         Georgia: CNICK – The first smart wooden ring to replace the need to carry multiple plastic cards for access, payments and loyalty programmes

·         Uzbekistan, Mayasoft – Mayasoft provided Microsoft’s international certificate training under a corporate and an individual title

·         Kazakhstan, Joint Winners: Biometric & Lending Star. Biometric’s cash microfinance business targets developing countries with low credit card penetration, whilst Lending Star aims to change the world of business financing by creating a financial marketplace for small and medium businesses

Throughout August and September, new tour dates announced include: Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Riyadh and Casablanca. Ultimately, the tour will visit 18 cities across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. 

Startups who attend FinTech Abu Dhabi can apply to become part of the FinTech 50 - a global network that provides leaders with a lasting community to connect with investors and partners. Further information and the chance to register can be found at www.fintechabudhabi.com. Recognising the leading emerging financial technology talent from around the world, FinTech Abu Dhabi will be the place to meet with pioneers building the future of financial technologies, whilst providing government, corporate partners and investors with a marketplace to collaborate and unlock growth.

Wai Lum Kwok, Senior Executive Director (Capital Markets), Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM of ADGM, said “ADGM is excited that FinTech AD Tour has been gaining strong traction and support globally and in the various cities. The calibre of participating FinTech companies and entrepreneurs has been very impressive and it reveals how advanced and innovating the respective FinTech communities in each city that we have toured.  FinTech Abu Dhabi Tour is an integral component of FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival. As an International Financial Centre and a FinTech Hub in MENA, ADGM is committed to do what it takes to nurture emerging tech and FinTech enterprises to thrive and grow locally in Abu Dhabi and globally. We look forward to meeting up with more FinTechs in the new cities soon. ”

Daniel Seal, Founder and CEO of Unbound, said: “The tour has got off to a fantastic start with our opening events in Singapore, London, Kigali, China and Central Asia. We have already witnessed so much talent and innovation and can’t wait to see what the other cities have to offer.  The FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, supported by Unbound, has seen huge interest already which will only grow over the coming months. As an entrepreneur, I’m delighted to be involved in a project that serves to elevate grassroots talent and celebrate the boldest ideas and initiatives driving the FinTech industry.”