Dubai, 30th October, 2018 - Today, Startupbootcamp launches its FinTech Accelerator program in Dubai to support the city in its bid to become a world leader in financial services innovation and technology.
Over the next three years and in partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Visa and HSBC, Startupbootcamp will accelerate 40 startups working in a range of fields impacting financial services innovation, such as artificial and machine intelligence, distributed ledger technologies and digital and open banking. The program will be open to startups from the MENA region as well as from around the world.
Dubai’s strong FinTech ambitions are focused on becoming the key financial hub serving a unique and rapidly developing region. Startupbootcamp, together with the partners, will support this vision by taking FinTech startups through a focused three-month growth program located in FinTech Hive at DIFC to address all critical areas of their business and prepare operations for future scaling. Partners and mentors of the program provide startups with an unparalleled level of highly curated access to resources, insights, technology, and expertise.
The program provides all the tools to take a startup from its initial launch to developing a highly scalable business with solid revenue growth. The program will provide startups with support from Startupbootcamp’s global network of entrepreneurs, investors and industry corporations, free co-working space, €15,000 to cover living expenses and over €450,000 worth of partner deals.
Startupbootcamp has invested in and accelerated more than 200 FinTech and InsurTech startups to date across programs in London, New York, Singapore, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Mumbai and Hartford, Connecticut, enriching and developing their FinTech ecosystems. Startupbootcamp is no stranger to innovation in Dubai after successfully launching its Smart Cities accelerator program in 2017, partnered with Dubai Silicon Oasis, du, Visa, Dubai Chamber, Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai, Smart Dubai and Orange Business Services.
The Startupbootcamp FinTech Dubai team will be hosting a series of ‘FastTrack’ events in different cities across the Middle East as well as international cities such as New Delhi, London, Singapore, New York and more over the next two months, in order to give startups the chance to present their ideas and to find out more about the program.
-QUOTES-
Todd OBrien, CEO of MENA, Startupbootcamp, said: “We are extremely excited to begin this journey that will see some of the best financial innovations from around the world come to enrich the financial ecosystem in Dubai and the region.”
Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive Vice President - FinTech Hive at DIFC, said: “Building on the success of our existing accelerator programmes that target growth-stage FinTech companies, we are excited to partner with Startupbootcamp on this latest initiative that provides a growth platform for early-stage startups. The partnership will contribute significantly to developing the regional FinTech and Venture Capital ecosystem, and promoting entrepreneurship in line with the UAE 2021 Vision.”
Shahebaz Khan, Visa’s General Manager for the UAE and Innovation Lead for MENA, commented: “The future of digital payments will be shaped through collaboration and we look forward to working with our startup partners to transform the payments landscape and support economic modernization efforts to the benefit of consumers, merchants and banks alike. We are proud to partner on the FinTech startup accelerator program to help foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem where innovators from across the region can thrive and to enable a smart economy powered by secure, innovative digital payment solutions.”
HSBC’s CIO of Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Ghinwa Baradhi, commented, “HSBC UAE is pleased to tie-up with Startupbootcamp to foster innovation and entrepreneurship through mentoring of young technology companies. We look forward to helping FinTech startups shape their products at scale and expand their markets, while providing more established entrepreneurs with strategic guidance on market opportunities and trends. Our aim is to explore options for collaboration to build innovative solutions which shape a better future for our customers and colleagues.”
More information about the Startupbootcamp FinTech Dubai program can be found at https://www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/fintech-dubai/
Applications for the program are now open - interested startups can apply to https://www.f6s.com/sbcfintechdubai2019/apply
-ENDS-
About Startupbootcamp
Launched in 2014, Startupbootcamp FinTech is the leading global FinTech accelerator focused on innovation for the financial services industry. Based in London, Singapore, New York, Mumbai, Mexico City, Amsterdam and Dubai, each program is supported by a network of financial services partners, as well as an extensive mentor and alumni network from more than 30 countries across the globe. Startupbootcamp FinTech is part of the global award-winning Startupbootcamp, a network of industry focused startup accelerators. For more information, visit: http://www.startupbootcamp.org where you can find details about each program.
The Startupbootcamp FinTech Dubai program is supported locally by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), du, Visa and HSBC.
Twitter: @sbcFinTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startupbootcamp-fintech
About Dubai International Financial Centre
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is one of the world’s top financial centres, and the leading financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The Centre provides a world-class platform connecting the region’s markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas and facilitates growth in South-South trade and investment. An onshore, international financial centre, DIFC offers a stable, mature and secure base for financial institutions to develop their wholesale businesses.
The Centre offers all the elements found in the world’s most successful financial industry ecosystems, including an independent regulator and judicial system with a common-law framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, powerful, enabling support services and a vibrant business community. The infrastructure within the district features ultra-modern office space, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, art galleries, residential apartments, public green areas and hotels.
Located midway between the global financial centres of New York, London in the West and Singapore, Hong Kong in the East, DIFC (GMT +4) fills a vital time-zone gap with a workday that bridges the market and business hours of financial centres in both Asia and North America.
In 2015, DIFC launched its 2024 growth strategy, a blueprint for the next decade of growth of the financial hub. This strategy aims to stimulate trade and investment flows along the South-South economic corridor encompassing the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia and Latin America.
Currently, 2,003 active registered companies operate from the Centre, with a combined workforce of 22,768 professionals.
DIFC continues to pursue expansion into new services and sectors within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, an area comprising over 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and nominal GDP of US$7.7 trillion.
For further information, please visit our website: difc.ae, or follow us on Twitter @DIFC.
About HSBC Holdings Plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 3,800 offices in 66 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,607bn at 30 June 2018, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. For more information, please visit www.hsbc.com.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit www.visamiddleeast.com, www.visanewsmena.tumblr.com or follow us on Twitter @Visamiddleeast.