2 UAE firms among DIFC's 11 fintech start-ups

Dubai - The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on Monday announced 11 finalists as part of its inaugural FinTech Hive accelerator programme which features two UAE companies and nine from other parts of the world.
Among the short-listed financial technology start-ups include UAE-based Birdg which introduced a custom-built communication technology that allows smart phones to send and receive money while offline. The second start-up Sarwa is the first-hybrid automated investment platform which makes investing simpler with a personalised, low-cost and diversified portfolio.
Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC, says FinTech Hive really shapes the innovation side of the industry when it comes to financial world.
"I think the amount of interest that we saw with the number of applications from 32 countries, we are set to really pace forward with fintech industry in the region. Number of solution, the level of promise that we have today sets the right kind of tone for our ambitions to nurture fintech industry for Dubai and the region," he said, adding that "from global perspective the region is able to pull one per cent investment through fintech into this region. We feel great about this accelerator programme becoming a major FDI puller into the region."
Funding needs of start-ups
Moussa Beidas, Founder of Bridg, says the UAE market is very strong and springboard to other markets around the world. For the UAE, the company's is targeting cash on delivery which is $5 billion market and second is SMEs who need to process transactions immediately - not in a week time or when the bank is ready to do so. "We basically have the ability to empower them to start processing cash transactions within the hour."
Beidas expects to see the company operating in three different continents in the next couple of years.
Commenting on the funding needs, he said: "We are constantly updating our plans, and today we are looking for $1 million funding round which is pre-series A round, which would grow and become much bigger."
Mark Chahwan, Co-founder and CEO of Sarwa, said the start-up will target young professionals in the Middle East as there is a big population of youth and high digital usage with 40 per cent of population between 15 of 35, therefore, he sees a perfect product fit for the young people to start building their worth online.
He pointed out that the start-up offers an easy experience for the youth to invest in small incremental amounts as its cost is a third of what banks offer.
Jad Sayegh, Co-Founder and CTO of Sarwa, said the fintech startup has raised enough funds through venture capital firms and financial services executives.
"We will raise and upscale the amount once we have proven that we are both happy and can go to mass market. We expect to hire investment advisors and staff for the digital platform."
Set to run for 12 weeks, the first phase will see each finalist meeting executives from the accelerator's financial institution partners. The second phase will revolve around engagement with partners and mentorship by the financial institutions, as well as other select partners who will cover technology, legal, Islamic Finance and regulatory themes to name a few. The third and final phase will be pitch preparation for the Investor Day in mid-November. On this day, each start-up will promote its product to a host of investors, bankers, government officials and the media.
The other short-listed start-ups are Delio (UK), Labiba (Jordan), Maliyya (Azerbaijan), Middleware (US), Norbloc (Sweden), Semantify (US), Starling Trust (US), Theme Chain (India) and WeInvest (Singapore).
"We received an overwhelming number of applications for the programme - a testament to the demand for such an initiative - and the quality of proposals was very impressive. I have no doubt the sector is one that will only pick up pace and create more opportunity in the future," said Raja Al Mazrouei, Acting Executive Vice President of FinTech Hive at DIFC, says
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com