Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Over the past 12 months, the financial technology (“fintech”) industry in Saudi Arabia has continued to grow at a rapid pace. The recently published Fintech Saudi Annual Report 2021/2022 highlights that the number of fintech companies active in Saudi Arabia rose dramatically by 79% and investments in Saudi fintech companies for the year exceeded SAR 1.50 billion (USD 400m).
During 2021/2022, we have seen the development of a maturing fintech industry in the Kingdom, says Nezar Alhaidar, Director of Fintech Saudi. “This year has been an important year for the development of the Fintech industry in the Kingdom with the launch of the Fintech Strategy, which will drive Saudi Arabia to become a global fintech hub. We are delighted that we are on track to reach this goal with 147 fintechs now active in the kingdom.”
The report highlighted that over the past year there has been growth in almost all fintech areas and especially infrastructure activities as the Kingdom prepares for Open Banking. In addition to the approval of the Fintech strategy, there have also been a number of regulatory developments including the approval of a third digital bank, improvements to the Saudi Central Bank Regulatory Sandbox and the release of the regulatory framework for equity crowdfunding licence.
Fintech Saudi has also continued to play a central role in supporting the fintech industry with the launch of their co-working space, the Hub, which has become home to fintech activity in the Kingdom and the successful completion of the first accelerator program to support fintech companies with regulatory applications.
Moreover, the report predicted that the year 2022/2023 would be another significant period for the fintech industry. with the launch of 3 new digital banks, new regulations issued by SAMA and CMA and implementation of the Fintech strategy.
The Fintech Saudi annual report consists of a number of sections, including the Fintech strategy, capital market innovation, digital banking and the outlook from Fintech’s in Saudi.
Click here to access the Fintech Saudi annual report
-ends-
About Fintech Saudi
Fintech Saudi is an initiative launched by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in collaboration with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to support the development of the Fintech industry in Saudi Arabia. Fintech Saudi’s ambition is to transform Saudi Arabia into an innovative fintech hub with a thriving and responsible fintech ecosystem.
Fintech Saudi seeks to achieve this by supporting the development of the infrastructure required for the growth of the fintech industry, building capacities and talent required by fintech companies and supporting fintech entrepreneurs at all stages of their development.
