Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, and KPMG Lower Gulf Limited have launched their second annual FinTech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge to drive innovation in the financial services industry.
The inaugural competition organized last year generated strong interest among regional financial institutions about the potential benefits of collaborating with fintech startups. As a result, this year’s challenge will primarily focus on generating real case studies in the adoption of fintech solutions by major UAE institutions, including government entities and regulators. The final demo day will be held in conjunction with the annual FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit (FinTech AD), taking place on 17 September 2018 at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi.
UAE-based institutions, or corporate champions, will initially collaborate with ADGM to identify a specific business problem that can be resolved by financial technology. Both ADGM and KPMG will then issue a global call to action inviting local and global fintech entrepreneurs to apply for the opportunity to work with the designated corporate champions. The best selected applications will be paired with the corporate champions and will work together to develop ready-for-adoption solutions. The product of this collaboration will be presented to an audience of international financial institutions, regulators, professional services firms and startups at FinTech AD 2018 on 17 September.
Successful applicants will gain direct access to leading UAE institutions, and the opportunity to demonstrate their technological capabilities to potential clients in the wider financial industry during FinTech AD 2018. To help them gain a stronger foothold in the region, ADGM will also allow the successful candidates to set up their base in its offices and operate from its innovation center’s co-working space.
Mr Richard Teng, chief executive officer, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, commented, “Last year’s challenge demonstrated fintech’s immense potential to solve industry-wide problems. This year’s challenge will go one step further and showcase how these solutions can be implemented by big businesses. The challenge is a fantastic platform for ADGM to connect established financial institutions and corporations who have earned their clients’ trust and business over many years, with the innovative fintech players who promise to transform how financial services are delivered. We look forward to the participants showcasing the outcome of their collaboration at FinTech AD 2018 in September.”
Simultaneously, KPMG will also extend the operations of its Digital Village in the region and will operate from ADGM’s Innovation Center. Initially established in Singapore, the KPMG Digital Village is a symbiotic ecosystem dedicated to matching, fostering and forging innovation ventures between companies and startups. The platform intends to help startups as they look to grow to the next stage and equip corporate clients with one of the latest innovation technology.
Mr. Teng added, “ADGM is excited to welcome KPMG Digital Village to establish its second global centre in ADGM after Singapore. By bringing corporates, startups, investors, and government bodies together in a collaborative ecosystem to drive the adoption and integration of innovative solutions, the KPMG Digital Village aim to establish a robust ecosystem with strong networks for open innovation to succeed.”
The first Innovation Challenge in 2017 attracted 166 fintech startups from 39 countries, who vied for the opportunity to showcase how their innovative solutions could alleviate a number of industry-wide pain points experienced by financial services institutions across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The solutions presented by the eleven finalists at FinTech AD 2017 highlighted fintech’s potential to promote better outcomes in six focus areas: financial inclusion, regulatory compliance, trade finance, insurance, financial and investment management and private capital markets. The two winners of the challenge, FRS Labs and Silent Eight, were selected to demo their solutions at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2017.
More information at ADGM.