FinTech Hive at DIFC Commences Inaugural Accelerator Programme
- 11 finalists selected for accelerator programme commencing 21 August 2017
- Mentorship and guidance provided by leading partner financial institutions
- Programme will culminate with an Investor Day in mid-November
Dubai, UAE: 21 August 2017 – FinTech Hive at DIFC, the first-of-its-kind accelerator in the region, announces the commencement of its inaugural accelerator programme today. The programme features 11 finalists and brings together an emerging generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs to address the evolving needs of the region’s financial services industry by providing a platform in which they can collaborate with leading regional and international financial institutions.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for FinTech Hive at DIFC. Not only are we kicking off the first cycle of the accelerator programme but we are also excited to announce our first batch of finalists. These 11 start-ups demonstrate a delicate balance of remarkable vision, practical application and commercial potential in the FinTech space”, said Raja Al Mazrouei, Acting Executive Vice President of FinTech Hive at DIFC.
The accelerator programme, launched in partnership with Accenture, is a key component of FinTech Hive at DIFC. It consists of a 12-week curriculum in which a group of selected finalists work closely with financial institutions and other stakeholders to create real solutions that aim to address the evolving needs of the region’s financial services industry. Several criteria were used to evaluate finalists, including the level of business maturity, the potential to thrive in the FinTech Hive at DIFC ecosystem and degree of fit with the partnering financial institutions.
“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 would like to thank all candidates for their efforts and strongly encourage them to continue to work hard towards progressing their FinTech ideas. I have no doubt the sector is one that will only pick up pace and create more opportunity in the future,” added Al Mazrouei.
Sushil Saluja, Senior Managing Director of Financial Services in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America at Accenture said, “The exceptional quality of the proposals we received holds great promise for the future of FinTech in the UAE and the region. As FinTech continues to be a gamechanger for the financial services industry, nurturing innovative talent is a fundamental priority because of the immense benefits it brings to the economy and society. We are proud to play our part, by bringing our expertise in building and running FinTech Innovation Labs around the world, to support DIFC in creating an internationally renowned FinTech ecosystem that can cater to the unique challenges and opportunities of the region.”
The programme will run for 12 weeks. In the first phase, each finalist will meet with executives from the accelerator’s financial institution partners - including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD, HSBC, Mashreq, Network International, RAKBANK, Standard Chartered and Visa - in which they will discuss industry challenges and possible solutions to address them. Participants will also meet with representatives from strategic partners, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and UAE Exchange. During these meetings, the executives will hear more about the technology, provide preliminary feedback and discuss potential mentorship opportunities.
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. DIEDC will connect the finalists with fellow entrepreneurs in Islamic FinTech at a dedicated start-up event, while leading international law firms Clyde & Co, Simmons & Simmons and Support Legal will offer advice on how to navigate the region’s legal landscape.
In addition, Envestnet | Yodlee, Facebook and IBM have been brought on board as technology partners. Careem will provide discounts on transportation services for the duration of the programme and Rove Hotels will offer special rates on accommodation for participants. Telecommunication partner, Etisalat, will enable WiFi connectivity in the workspace and provide mobile SIM cards to the programme finalists. Furthermore, Erevena will leverage its global network of tech professionals to connect participating FinTech firms with a diverse talent pool, supporting the growth of their teams and business.
Senior executives from DIFC Authority, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Accenture will also be available throughout the programme to provide clarity around business procedures and the regulatory framework in the Centre.
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 members of the media.
Participating companies will benefit from the recently introduced Innovation Testing Licence (ITL), which allows qualifying FinTech firms to develop and test their concepts from within the DIFC, without being subject to the regulatory requirements that normally apply to regulated firms.
The finalists selected for the inaugural cycle of the FinTech Hive at DIFC accelerator programme are:
Bridg (United Arab Emirates)
Bridg is a revolutionary custom built communication technology that allows smartphones to send and receive money while offline. A patent-pending payment platform that takes digital payments offline. It uses widely available wireless tech such as Bluetooth to securely transmit and receive encrypted information in real-time. This game changing technology gives the financial sector access to the much larger offline market in developing countries.
Delio (United Kingdom)
Delio is a complete solution for private assets, helping financial institutions and their advisors enhance their offering through connecting private deal flow with high net worth and ultra-high net worth capital. Providing flexibility and control, Delio’s configurable technology platforms can connect together multiple institutions so deal flow can be shared both internally and externally, increasing scalability in a structured and compliant manner.
Labiba (Jordan)
With people spending more time on messaging platforms than all digital channels combined, Labia.ai comes to help businesses capture that opportunity by allowing them to create artificially intelligent chat bots. These bots engage with audiences in one-to-one conversations using natural language to provide an unprecedented experience for marketing, operational and support functions.
Maliyya (Azerbaijan)
Maliyya is a Shariah-compliant P2P financing and investment startup. Maliyya aims to disrupt the financial and investment services industry by bringing together regional and global financiers and borrowers. Maliyya plans to use big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies to provide investors and borrowers with optimal solutions for investing or mobilising financing.
Middleware (United States)
Middleware was founded by Alexander Vityaz in 2014 in the industrial centre of Ukraine, Dnipro. Today, Middleware Inc. is an American company that consists of 36 people. Key employees have more than 20 years of experience in the banking sector. Share CreditCard is technology that allows customers to share access to the money on their cards instead of making a money transfer. As a result, friends and family can receive fast access to your card with a limited-use token, allowing them to pay at NFC-enabled POS.
Norbloc (Sweden)
Norbloc focuses on financial regulatory applications built on distributed ledgers. Its KYC platform is probably the first globally legally approved KYC ecosystem allowing sharing of data validating stamps. It thus removes duplication of efforts on both bank and customer sides and allows KYC monetization opportunities.
Sarwa (United Arab Emirates)
Sarwa is the first hybrid automated investment management platform for young professionals in the Middle-East. Sarwa's platform makes investing simple and affordable, by combining proven investment strategies with technology that drives down costs. Build your wealth with a personalized, low-cost, diversified portfolio and reach their investment experts at sarwa.co
Semantify (United States)
Semantify helps business users and data analysts interact with critical business data in ways that are natural to them using semantic and conversational interactions whilst leveraging the full power of sophisticated data analytics.
Starling Trust (United States)
Starling is an applied behavioural sciences RegTech startup helping financial services firms to manage culture- and conduct-related risks. Starling’s Predictive Behavioral Analytics technology combines machine learning, network analytics, and behavioural science to uncover invisible systemic risk; identify opportunities for proactive risk mitigation; and gauge the efficacy of management intervention.
Theme Chain (India)
Theme Chain is a subsidiary of Encore Theme Technologies, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) for trade finance, housing finance, NBFC’s and co-operatives / credit unions since 2006. Theme Chain is a Blockchain Eco System on SaaS providing a smart innovative e-solution for trade finance business encompassing all participants including importers, exporters, banks, regulators, shipping agents and insurance companies.
WeInvest (Singapore)
WeInvest is Asia’s first digital wealth management solutions provider. Founded in 2015, WeInvest is headquartered in Singapore. Our proprietary robo-advisor provides banks, wealth and asset managers, insurance companies and independent financial advisors with a complete end-to-end investment platform which covers tech platform, investment strategies, operations, execution and custody.
