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ADGM: 11 Dec 2024
Fintech Abu Dhabi returned for its highly anticipated eighth edition, reinforcing its status as the Middle East’s biggest fintech festival. Part of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), the event attracted a dynamic mix of global tech leaders, tech innovators, banking institutions, developers, entrepreneurs, and investors who shape the future of finance. With a focus on payments, digital assets, digital security, and credit, the gathering also reaffirmed Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for financial innovation.
Commenting on the event, Salem Mohammed Al Darei, CEO of ADGM Authority said, "Fintech Abu Dhabi exemplifies our dedication to innovation, bringing global visionaries together to shape the future of finance and technology. We aim to facilitate meaningful conversations that continue to strengthen a thriving ecosystem coupled with progressive frameworks and a dynamic business environment. By cultivating this we have enabled collaborations where innovation in finance and technology could flourish and reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading hub for financial innovation and technology."
Through a series of thought-provoking sessions and high-profile forums, Fintech Abu Dhabi highlighted key trends within this sector. A keynote address by Paul Kayrouz - Chief Fintech Officer at the Central Bank of the UAE shed light on ‘Seeding Success: The UAE as a Global Fintech Hub,’ while the fireside chat on ‘Investing in AI: What Does the Next World Look Like?’ with H.R.H. Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud - Founder & CEO, KBW Ventures, explored the promise of AI as a transformative asset class, as well as its impact on industries such as finance and health. In a well-attended session, Lord David Cameron - Former Prime Minister of the UK talked about the significant decisions and policies that worked for the UK a decade ago.
Meanwhile, a panel discussion on ‘Has the Unicorn Machine Stopped Working?’ examined the emergence of new unicorns in fintech despite challenges in the venture capital market and examined whether the ecosystem can sustain growth or if consolidation is necessary. For this discussion, representatives from FJ Labs, VentureSouq, Airwallex and Financial Technology Partners took to the stage. The ‘Building the Digital Assets Ecosystem’, panel included renowned names such as Sebastien Danloy – CBO at Euroclear Group, Nadine Chakar - Managing Director & Head of Global Digital Assets at Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Domenico Nardelli – Treasurer at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Marianne Demarchi - Chief Executive EMEA at Swift.
This year’s Fintech Abu Dhabi also introduced new forums highlighting the evolving landscape of finance and technology. The inaugural Islamic Finance Summit (IFS) explored the future of Shariah-compliant finance and its alignment with sustainable finance and the DLT Foundations Roundtable focused on regulatory frameworks for distributed ledger technologies and digital assets. Returning forums such as AI Abu Dhabi, Blockchain AD, and the Risk 4.0 Forum addressed the key challenges and opportunities for technology and finance.
On stage, Richard Teng, CEO of Binance and Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial - the issuer of USDC, announced a strategic partnership that will accelerate global USDC and crypto adoption. Other key participants included Lily Lui - President of Solana Foundation, Konstantin Richter - CEO of Blockdaemon, Jonathan Levin, Co-founder and CSO of Chainalysis, Rebecca Rettig - Chief Legal & Policy Officer at Polygon Labs and Angela Walker - Global Head of Banking & Capital Markets at Chainlink Labs.
Becoming a stage for strategic partnerships, ADFW has witnessed over 30 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) signed so far. This includes a couple of major MoUs signed by ADGM today; the first one with PaloAlto Networks and the second one with Ma’an.
Fintech Abu Dhabi also featured the MENA Fintech Awards recognising excellence in the fintech sector, and the ADFW Startup Campus and Venture Park, where local startups pitched their innovations to potential investors.
The various forums hosted today highlight Fintech Abu Dhabi's commitment to fostering discussions that empower participants to thrive in a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.
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