
Plain-Sailing Future For Trade Finance Digitization
Trade finance is moving out of the paper age. But to fully leverage digitization, banks need to tear down data silos and standardize tools and procedures.
Fintech start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa region are expected to attract $50 million worth of investments in 2017, compared with a total of $100 million invested over the past decade. That’s according to a recent report published by Dubai-based start-up network and accelerator Wamda, in partnership with online-payment gateway Payfort.
“This would be a strong indicator suggesting that MENA is about to transition from the frontier to the emerging market in fintech,” the report points out.
Some of this year’s biggest deals include $20 million for Bahraini payment solution PayTabs, $3.5 million for Emirati finance-comparison platform yallacompare and $1.5 million for Emirati mobile-banking solution NOW Money.
The region’s digital banking ecosystem is developing quickly around four major hubs: the United Arab Emirates—home to over a third of the region’s fintech companies—followed by Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
The report indicates that nearly all surveyed start-ups plan to enter new markets over the next two years, and that “88% of entrepreneurs were either seeking or already leveraging partnerships with corporations,” mainly banks.