India’s mature fintech ecosystem attracts UAE-based firms – News
Speakers at the India-UAE Partnership Summit highlight how the historic economic agreement and Golden Visa pave the way for a growth story
Essa Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman, Essa Al Ghurair Investment, with Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador, Embassy of India (left) and Yogesh Mehta, Managing Director, Petrochem during the first Plenary – Past, Present and Future at the India UAE Partnership Summit held in Dubai Chambers on Tuesday. Photo by M. Sajjad
A golden era of entrepreneurship has been ushered in since last year, with India’s mature Fintech ecosystem, attracting UAE-based companies to tap into the country’s fintech strategy, experts said at a summit on Tuesday.
Companies presenting new models are already seeing traction on the back of the phenomenal India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed last year.
Jointly organized by the International Business Linkage Forum (IBLF) and the Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, the India-UAE Partnership Summit follows an increase in business interests between the two countries on the back of the CEPA agreement and announcement of golden visas in the UAE.
Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador, Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, UAE, speaking at the India-UAE Partnership Summit, currently taking place at Dubai Chambers, “Fintech is certainly one of those areas that is seeing a lot of investment… startups. The target was 100 billion in five years (after signing CEPA). We’re about eight months in, and for this fiscal year we’ve already reached about $88 billion. We’ve seen some landmark investments, including a $2 billion investment from the International Holding Company ( IHC) Abu Dhabi in Adani energy and similar investments have been seen with Tata. Many of these investments are going into the futuristic sectors … into areas dealing with renewable energy, into technology and into startups.”
Mohammad Ali bin Rashed Lootah, President and CEO, Dubai Chambers, delivering the opening and keynote address at the India UAE Partnership Summit held at Dubai Chambers on Tuesday. Photo by M. Sajjad
Highlighting the UAE’s golden and green visas that are attracting talented individuals to the region, Mohammad Ali bin Rashed Lootah, President and CEO, Dubai Chambers, said: “India was the first country to sign such a bilateral trade agreement with the UAE. and the nation is an integral part of the UAE economy with approximately 3.5 million Indian citizens living here.As the UAE and Dubai will demand top talent, it is a ripe market to meet the needs of the local labor market, in addition to attracting entrepreneurs and visionaries as a response.
He adds, “With this in mind, the recent change to new visas makes it easier than ever for Indians to live, work and do business here. With the Golden Visa and Green Visa for Entrepreneurs, it opens up new opportunities for everyone. The Dubai Chamber is at the heart of this special partnership. By the end of 2022, our membership database reveals 83,000 members of Indian companies. Our mandate is to strengthen international relationships with strong markets like India.”
It was also revealed that today more than 30 percent of the startup community in Dubai is from India and one million jobs have been created by Indian firms and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the Middle East including the UAE.
