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Sharjah / Emirates Business
Investments in Gulf-based fintech startups are expected to reach $2 billion in the next decade, compared to a $150 million invested in the last 10 years, according to a new study by Mena Research Partners (MRP), a leading rese-arch company in the region. The study was released on Tuesday, to coincide with the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival, a key regional event that is celebrating entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC).
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to play a key role in unlocking the GCC growth potential and shaping the Mena fintech sector. MRP suggests that both countries will be at the heart of the evolving fintech transformation, powered by many factors: adopting a top-down approach for creating advanced infrastructures for the smart cities of the future, having the highest online connectivity per capita in the region, and representing 45% of the Mena economies. The private sector in both markets is also stepping up its investments in fintech.