News

25 June 2019, Abu Dhabi: The Global Financial Innovation Network (GFiN) today published its inaugural report, “GFiN - One Year On”, highlighting its achievements, industry challenges, and plans for the future.  GFiN comprises a network of international regulators and related organisations committed to supporting financial innovation and to creating a framework for co-operation between regulators to share experiences and approaches to innovation. It has rapidly grown over the past year from its 12 founding members, to be a global dialogue with 35 Member Regulators and 7 Observers from 21 jurisdictions.

GFiN Key facts:

• 35 members and 7 observers from 21 jurisdictions.
• 99 responses from 26 jurisdictions received in response to the initial GFiN consultation.
• 44 applications from 17 jurisdictions for the inaugural GFiN cross-border test pilot with 8 firms being selected to develop testing plans.
• Nearly 60 representatives attended the first biannual meeting of the GFiN held in London in May.

The “GFiN – one year on report” sets out what the GFiN has been doing over the past year, the challenges it has faced, achievements, and its ambitions for the future. GFiN welcomes industry feedback and ongoing engagements to ensure that it continues to add value, and looks forward to improving ways of working together for the benefit of innovative firms and other stakeholders.

ADGM is one of the founding members of GFiN. As an International Financial Centre, ADGM is committed to establishing initiatives and joint collaborations with industry and community stakeholders to maintain a vibrant and sustainable FinTech environment for start-ups to operate their businesses and achieve their innovations. Among others, some key initiatives include the following:

• ADGM RegLab: Since its launch in 2016, the ADGM RegLab has admitted 28 FinTechs from 69 applications over three cohorts.A number of Reglabs firms have successfully extended their business regionally and across multiple jurisdictions.ADGM recently closed the 4^th cohort of applications and expects to announce the successful applicants in Q3 2019.The ADGM RegLab is the first regulatory sandbox regime in the MENA region that allows FinTech innovators to live-test and deploy their solutions with customers in a controlled environment under the guidance and supervision of the regulator.
  
  
• FinTech Bridges: Besides being a member of GFiN to support cross-border testing of FinTech solutions, ADGM has today 26 MoUs with fellow financial regulators in 17 countries to help FinTechs scale and deploy their solutions in across jurisdictions.
  
  
• Hub71: a global tech hub (founded by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund – Mubadala, in partnership with SoftBank, Microsoft, Abu Dhabi Investment Office and ADGM) for the tech start-up community where entrepreneurs, investors, technology firms can be housed under one roof, supported by the following schemes and network:

• An AED 535 million fund for co-investments with VC managers set up in ADGM, to invest into start-ups based in Hub71.
  • https://www.investinabudhabi.ae/incentives/start-up-matching-fund/
  • https://www.investinabudhabi.ae/incentives/new-managers-fund/
• A US $1billiion ADGM Catalyst Partners fund to co-invest with PE funds in scale-ups.
• A business friendly Tech licensing / incorporation regime and entrepreneur support programme for start-ups, supported by a network of mentors and professional service providers.
• Subsidy schemes for start-up innovators (e.g. housing, office space, insurance) admitted into Hub71.
• Innovation platforms to cater to the development of promising and innovative start-ups, including global world class FinTech and Tech accelerator programmes such as Plug & Play, Techstars, Starburst, KPMG Digital Village.

• ADGM Academy: Working in partnership with leading financial institutions and academic institutions (such as the CFA Institute, the London Institute of Banking and Finance, INSEAD, FinTech Circle), the ADGM Academy was established to build up the talent pool in finance and FinTech through professional training and industry certifications.

ADGM’s progressive regulatory regime and conducive ecosystem enable start-up innovators to easily anchor their foundation and access ADGM as the gateway to business and investment opportunities in the MENA region. As a business enabler, ADGM actively drives the financial innovation agenda by creating global platforms for the FinTech community to connect, collaborate and co-create, such as:

• FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival 2019: Organised by ADGM, FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival is the largest FinTech event in the MENA region.  Building on the success of the previous two years’ editions, this year’s event will take place on 21 – 23 October with the aim of bringing in at least 5,000 participants from the region and globally.  Structured around the key tracks of Innovation Adoption, Investor “Deal Day”, Bridging Connectivity and Building Talent, the event will immerse global leaders and participants in the MENA FinTech ecosystem, providing them with an opportunity to collaborate and network, enhance product offerings with innovative FinTech solutions, share real use-cases and exchange knowledge, as well as build new partnerships.
  
  
• ADGM Innovation Challenge: In conjunction with the FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, ADGM organises an annual global innovation challenge to bring the top FinTech innovators from around the world to Abu Dhabi to help financial and corporate institutions in the region address their business and operation challenges.

ADGM looks forward to welcoming the global FinTech community to the FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival, where we will be announcing more initiatives to help accelerate the adoption of FinTech innovation and transformation of the financial services sector.

For full list of GFIN Membership, click here.

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About Abu Dhabi Global Market

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre (IFC) located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, opened for business on 21 October 2015.  Established by a UAE Federal Decree as a broad-based financial centre, ADGM augments Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for business and finance and serves as a strategic link between the growing economies of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and the rest of the world.

 ADGM’s strategy is anchored by Abu Dhabi’s key strengths including private banking, wealth management, asset management and financial innovation. Comprising three independent authorities: ADGM Courts, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Registration Authority, ADGM as an IFC governs Al Maryah Island which is a designated financial free zone. It enables registered financial institutions, companies and entities to operate, innovate and succeed within an international regulatory framework based on Common Law.  

 Since its inception, ADGM has been awarded the “Financial Centre of the Year (MENA)” for three consecutive years for its initiatives and contributions to the financial and capital markets industry in the region.*   For more details of ADGM, please visit www.adgm.com or follow us on Twitter : @adglobalmarket and Linkedin : ADGM

* Source : The Global Investor Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Awards

For further enquiries, please contact:

Joan Lew

joan.lew@adgm.com

 Click here for GFIN Report.