Industry pioneers delve into the future of fintech with discussions on AI innovation, financial inclusion, and the path to IPOs
Fintech Surge 2024, the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest fintech event, opened today at the iconic Dubai Harbour. The event is uniting the brightest minds in fintech, banking, and digital innovation from over 70 countries, with day one’s agenda at the Future of Money stage in Hall 10 focused on investing in fintech.
The show kicked off with a visionary dialogue ‘2030, The Trillion-Dollar Year’, focused on what strategic steps investors can take to continue legitimising the ever-growing fintech space. Charlie Graham-Brown, CIO & Co-Founder, Seedstars (Switzerland), highlighted how the fintech market represents a massive opportunity, yet fintechs are only capturing a small percentage of it. He commented: “This indicates a significant growth potential as we move towards 2030, especially in emerging markets where financial inclusion is rapidly expanding. The integration of embedded finance and innovative technologies like generative AI will be key drivers in this sector’s evolution.”
The first day also featured an insightful multi-dimensional conversation between decision makers and innovators on ‘Becoming IPO Ready’, discussing the challenges that don’t always make the headlines. Dr Sabah al-Binali, Chief Capital Market Officer, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), said: “The entrepreneurial mindset often clashes with regulations and regulators. The ideal time to IPO is when you need significant funds to continue expanding at a pace that private markets can’t sustain. An IPO provides an exit strategy that’s less of a headache, allowing founders to reap the rewards directly, rather than navigating complex investment contracts filled with legal intricacies.”
With the global fintech market reaching approximately USD 226.71 billion in 2023, and projected to reach around USD 917.17 billion by 2032, the session ‘In Dialogue: Digital Money According to Global Investors in Emerging Markets’ shared insights from leading ventures from across the world – in the UK UAE, Nigeria and the UAE – on the regional trends, early-stage investment strategies, digital banking evolution, and emerging technologies like blockchain and AI.
When asked about industry projections, Alisha Golden, Investment Principal at TechStars (Nigeria), said: “I think the future of fintech is embedded, where companies that we don’t initially deem as fintechs are going to have a fintech component, similar to companies like Apple with Apple Pay, and also Starbucks. And it’s going to get even more exciting. Any company that has amassed a large customer base and is servicing them well is ultimately going to have to embed some layer of finance into it to support them in the value chain.”
Fintech Surge 2024 will welcome over 100 exhibitors, 120 speakers, and more than 1,200 investors throughout the four days. An integral part of Expand North Star, powered by GITEX GLOBAL, tomorrow’s agenda will be packed with cutting-edge discussions on themes in digital banking and finance.
For more information, visit www.fintechsurge.com.