DIFC: Why Regulation is Critical to Fintech Success
As the fintech industry grows, it presents both opportunities and challenges for regulators. In the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, regulators have taken proactive steps to create an enabling environment for the industry.
Arif Amiri, The CEO of the Dubai International Financial Center Authority (DIFC) outlines his commitment to creating an enabling framework that promotes technology and business model innovation.
The global fintech market is expected to reach $949 billion by 2030, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2 percent between 2022 and 2030, according to a report by Grand View Research.
The fintech sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region mirrors the global growth trajectory, having received funding worth $925 million through 131 deals in 2022 – with the UAE in pole position accounting for 37 percent of total funding in the MENA region.
Activating environment
This burgeoning growth in the fintech industry has created opportunities as well as challenges for regulators across economies. Particularly in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, regulators have taken proactive steps to create an enabling environment for the industry by combining regulatory frameworks and innovation initiatives.
Regulators have actively promoted policy changes to help the more than 680 fintech companies operating from the DIFC (reportedly accounting for 60 percent of all fintech companies in the GCC) to establish a base and grow in the region.
Through the DIFC and its independent regulator, DFSA, the center has promoted proactive policy regulations, which has led to increased interest from fintehcs in Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asian markets. The DIFC Metaverse platform’s development also focuses on accelerating Dubai’s ambitions in the fintech sector by building trust in the space and securing fintech.
Build trust
In the past year alone, DIFC-based fintech and innovation companies have raised $650 million in funding, with a large majority coming from venture capital firms, corporate investors and private investors. This is the kind of trust and market confidence that DIFC has built. Maintaining this requires a lot of effort.
Globally, there have been steps to regulate the cryptocurrency and decentralized finance areas to usher in greater security, stability and efficiency. At DIFC, we are committed to creating an enabling framework to foster the kind of technological and business model innovations required to expand financial access and improve the quality of financial services in the country.
Experimentation is key to regulatory progress and the DIFC is committed to two-way consultation to enable innovation to flourish.
Regulation and other new trends in the world of finance and fintech, which will be central to Dubai FinTech Summit later this year. At the summit, DIFC aims to bring together global fintech experts and technology innovators to a curated audience to discuss all things fintech taking place on 8-9 May 2023 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
The Dubai FinTech Summit will also delve into the latest challenges and technology trends in Dubai’s financial services sector.
