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Fintech in the MENA region

Middle East is one of the world's most heterogeneous regions, spanning three continents and 21 countries, with a population of close to 600 million is a culturally, politically, and economically diverse region. This diversity is reflected in the vastly different stages of advancement of the FinTech industries across the region.

The UAE is a leader in FinTech innovation, comprising about 24% of the FinTech’s in the region. Remittances, banking penetration, security of transactions and compliance are areas that are more likely to most benefit from FinTech’s.

The entire MENA region is home to some of the world's most unbanked populations, particularly in Africa, but with the Arab states not far behind. Ultimately this will see the FinTech playing areas within the region begin to level out during the decade ahead, as long as the regulators keep the field open for them.

Regulations across these regions are also at various stages of development as authorities are grappling with how to balance the need to protect customers while allowing innovation to thrive and succeed while ultimately benefiting customers by offering them lower fees and access to financial facilities they would otherwise not be able to use.

It has been noted that there has been a rapid change in the regulatory environment. The central banks of Egypt, Bahrain, UAE and Jordan have adopted specific initiatives to regulate digital payment services. Lebanon, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have introduced crowdfunding regulations.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE is furthest along on their FinTech journey and the most globally competitive country in the MENA region

UAE is the 25th most competitive country in the world, gaining two positions from the previous year. They have gained ground mainly due to significant improvements in the Information and Communication technology adoption and skills i.e., possibly the most important drivers of growth opportunities in Fintech. As per The World Economic Fund, these pillars complement the UAE’s long standing competitive advantages such as a stable macroeconomic environment, sound product market and infrastructure.

A report recently states that UAE may not yet be on top of the tables but are certainly giving the conventional financial centers a run for their money by showing what it takes to wage a Fintech battle. In addition, UAE has a plan for as to how to focus regulatory, innovation and ecosystem efforts to best effect to build FinTech success at scale.

It is evident that digital penetration is high and is continuing to grow across all GCC countries. Regulators are following the evolution of the financial services and are expected to bring much more outstanding FinTech startups.

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We all need time alone

It's no secret that humans are social beings. We live in this sort of symbiotic relationship with one another constantly. It is how we function and pretty much our very purpose. As a result, we spend almost all our time either with other people or thinking about them constantly. This is completely understandable but we ought to make time for ourselves; a significant amount of time.

It sounds like something unnecessary but I’ve come to realize its importance. Also, this is something that everyone needs to do willingly and with an open mind.

You start to learn about yourself. In such a fast paced world, we find ourselves running with a crowd, following what you see and hear around you, subconsciously or otherwise. We get so saturated with the ideologies that have been told to us and the philosophies of other people and find a desirable combination and make them our own. That is just how everyone is.

Alone time helps stop that. Time to think on your own is going to truly help you scrutinize everything you’ve ever thought about and everything you think you stand/stood for. Its a time where you distance yourself from the voices of the world, just to hear your own. You’ll be surprised to find that a lot of things just aren’t what they seem and you may even find yourself figuring out your own faults and flaws. It’s common sense that one needs to know what’s wrong in order to fix it so you connect the dots.

Doing things alone will change your perspective. Some judgmental people are going to call you a loner for this but ignore it because it is going to make you a more learned person.

When you do things alone like for example, taking a trip to the museum, going to the theatre or going to a restaurant alone, you learn to create an unbiased opinion of your own. It will let you decide things without anyone else influencing your decisions in any way or form. You discover a lot about yourself and put into perspective what you believe in already and what you truly want to believe in.

Also, as weird as it seems, it’s quite a liberating feeling and it’ll help you learn to detach yourself from the people in your life once in a while and take a long hard look at them and yourself. Even if they are small things, it’ll give you courage to step into greater things at some point and it’ll stop any sort of desperate urge to cling on to people or encourage their unnecessary opinions of you.

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Fintech reshapes the UAE's financial industry

Ever since its introduction, Fintech is unstoppable. Countries and consumers worldwide are increasingly adopting fintech. As per recent studies, the consumer use of fintech globally has increased by 75% between 2015 – 2019. Financial Technology has undergone significant growth in UAE and a few of the main contributing factors include supportive government policies, a population with the willingness to adapt to the latest Fintech innovation and a private sector that partners with innovative fintech startups. These factors have revolutionized the financial sector in the UAE.

Adoption of Fintech in the UAE

The region’s National vision has fintech deeply rooted in it, thereby urging the UAE strive to become one of the worlds best economies by becoming the economic and commercial capital of about 2 million individuals by shifting to a more knowledgeable and tech-based system. UAE has appointed Ministers of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced series in order to bring this vision to life.

Since 2017, the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets has been making more efforts towards ensuring that governments in the Middle East and North Africa implement regulatory frameworks that support financial technology, and the U.A.E is very active in these measures and are reshaping its financial industry to reflect a more technologically enhanced structure. 

Over the past 5 years, the UAE has established itself as the biggest hub for financial technology especially in regard to start ups in the MENA region. According to studies, UAE accounted for about 45% of all fintech deals and about 67% of total funding and is home to majority of the Fintech start ups in the MENA region. Countries worldwide are reshaping their finances and the financial markets see it as an instrument that will tremendously transform the capital markets and finances.

Positive Growth Trends

Although the region only represents about 1% of the world’s fintech investment, the sector is rapidly growing across the Middle East at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 30%. It is estimated that by 2022, about 465 fintech firms in the UAE will generate about $2 billion in investment capital funding in comparison to the $80 million in tinted investment capital raised in the year 2017.

Most of the ventures in the region are moved in order to improve the fintech sector. There is a lot of emphasis on startups that focus on payment, online lending, remittances, banking, blockchain, and crypto companies that are likely to emerge the most. However, a majority of the funding focuses more on the payment sector with about 80% of the fintech companies in the MENA region operating in transfers, payments, and remittances.

Most of the ventures in the region have focused on the payment sector as the region continues to be the hub for tech-related payments. The activities of the U.A.E in this sector have led to a rise in remittances due to their growing population representing over 90% of the country’s total population. Remittances from the region summed up to about $44.5 billion in 2017 a majority of which was transferred through money exchange firms and one-quarter through banks. This indicates that the regions financial sector is being transformed from the standard financial systems to more technological frameworks.

Factors contributing to the Growth of Fintech In The U.A.E

The increase in the use of mobile devices and improved internet connection has also been a significant contributor to the growth of the fintech industry in the region. In 2017, mobile access in the Middle East reached 100% and smartphones on the other hand reached 60%. The U.A.E, Bahrain, and Qatar were found to be the most penetrated markets in the world in 2019.

Administrative bodies are encouraging the development of more fintech-related businesses and are even partnering with companies in the private sector to ensure that this vision comes to life, thereby establishing a very sound fintech ecosystem.

In conclusion, fintech is definitely making the financial system a whole lot faster and easier and as the world become more and more tech savvy, blockchain technology and cryptos will continue to be used to reshape standard financial systems not only in the UAE but also worldwide.

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Top 5 Trends Transforming the Fintech Sector

Fintech has caused quite the stir in financial services ecosystems due to their rapid developments. Its transformation has piqued interest as technological advancements radically alter the financial industry. As a result, Fintech has become increasingly effective in enhancing the performance improvement of firms.

The attention of consumers has shifted to digital alternatives for financial transactions and services as a result of the government’s initiative to promote a cashless economy and system digitization.

Blockchain Technology

The most crucial development changing the fintech industry is the use of blockchain technology. It is not a niche technology, but rather a form of decentralized technology that has empowered majority of the fintech industry and even beyond. Blockchain, can help any product or service that depends on contracts. In essence, blockchain technology eliminates the middleman by encoding “smart contracts” directly into the blockchain through a decentralized ledger, as though the contracts/transactions were caught in hue. As a result, blockchain can make many financial items, such as futures contracts and insurance plans, safer, reliable, and more stable.

Voice and Chat Bot

Chatbots have been implemented across a variety of industries, including fintech, and there is no doubt that this automated solution has supported individuals worldwide, particularly in terms of customer service and management.

Customers, on the other hand, may face a language barrier, thereby making them unable to use different digital solutions. This is where a voice bot steps in to help localize end-to-end customer and business experiences.

Open Banking

People tend to spend their money instead of keeping it in the bank as their financial literacy grows. Traditional banks are giving third-party financial institutions a run for their money when it comes to providing versatile high-income-generating investments and customers are taking advantage of it through open banking. Open banking allows third-party financial service providers to access consumer banking data through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for purposes that have been approved by the consumers. 

Cloud and Big Data Analytics

Banks use cloud computing to remove repetitive activities and functions. Other resources provide information storage, management, and access. Fintech firms that use cloud-based technologies also assist banks in the development of unique solutions for improving customer experiences, personalization, and automation.

Big data in fintech is more than just a trend. It’s been growing at an unprecedented rate in over  the past few years, owing to the increased adoption of mobile technology and the Internet of Things.

One of the key benefits of the cloud for financial firms is the ability to store and monitor vast sets of data that are used for transaction verification. As a result, they are agile and fast. This expands their market scope to a variety of new and distant areas, regardless of their region.       

Natural Language Processing

Natural language processing (NLP) is a branch of artificial intelligence that generates meaning and significance from spoken and written languages. It has made substantial progress over the last decade. NLP offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to extract value from Word and PDF documents, emails, files, social media messages, and the large quantities of unstructured data that make up much of the internet.

NLP is also used in banking chatbots, scanning of legal document, and other applications in the financial sector.

The best, though, is still yet to come.

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I wish you the best worst wishes

I wish you have groups of friends who ditch you some days and make you feel unworthy

So you’d have the greatest time when someone invites you to multiple places and events just because they wanted to.

I wish you have friends who would backstab you and use you for their own benefit

So that the day you find someone willing to do the littlest thing for you, you’d feel honored.

I wish you work your butt off day in and day out to see no sign of appreciation

Because the day you get appreciated, you’ll be inspiring someone else.

I wish you have some terrible tales about your love life

So you’d be better with your judgment and you’ll truly be grateful when someone who genuinely cares comes along.

I wish you have your heart broken to bits multiple times and survive

Because I believe you’d become a stronger person, immune to the people who don’t matter or care for you.

I wish you’ve been lonely and been down in the dumps

Because you’d be able to find the person who is truly willing to pick you up and dust you off.

I wish you get cheated on

So you’d know to never destroy someone else the way you’ve been damaged before.

I wish you and your love get separated for long periods of time

So that there would be magic the moment you see each other.

I wish that you have nights where you’ve cried yourself to sleep

Because when you wake up to a good day, it’d be one of your best.

I wish you’ve been able to witness someone close to you crumble and break down in front of you and you struggle to be there for them

So you’d know what it’s like to love and empathize with someone and you’d know for a fact that that person really matters to you.

I wish you go through the worst of the worst

So you come out stronger and fiercer than ever before.

I wish you’re left with the biggest battle wounds

So you can admire your scars the day the wounds heal.

I believe that there’s always a rainbow after the storm, a silver lining to everything. I’ll never know for sure if karma exists or not but I know from experience that the bad days will make you more grateful for the good. I know that the worst experiences and the terrible déjà vu moments you’ve had will make you wiser.

It’s like Newton’s third law of motion, every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. I know what you go through is what will shape you.

Suffering is an inevitable part of life. We always hope to dodge it and we hope the same for our loved ones. I’d like to wish you otherwise.

I wish the worst for you and the courage to conquer it. I wish you’d learn and become a better person, a more grateful and content person. I wish that you’d be able to reach a point in your life where you’re capable of steering away from negativity as you see it approach and dodge the bullets because you’ve been wounded before and you’re that much wiser and stronger.

Unlike everyone else, I’d want to wish you the worst, but with the best intentions.

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Messed Up? Just Confused.

In a world run by messed up rules and even messier minds, there are several people who live as slaves to their monotonous lives. She was no exception. She lived the same damn day over and over again. She felt lifeless, bored and quite irritated. There was nothing exceptional and nothing interesting happening.

She’d wake up at the same time every morning, have her cup of coffee, went about her morning routine and got to work. She had people she could call “friends” at work but there was no one she truly bonded with. All these interactions felt like empty words to her.

She wasn’t dating, had no particular group to hang out with regularly and no one around her interested her anymore. Everything she loved to do, didn’t give her the same happiness anymore. Coming back to an empty apartment everyday was comforting and terrible for her. She was at home but so lonely all at the same time. No amount of Netflix binge watching and novel reading could satisfy her anymore. Every night, she'd fall asleep feeling incomplete.

Tedious and dull is the only way she could describe her life. She was sick and tired of it all. So she finally decided to try and fix it. She broke her regular Sunday routine of binge watching and ordering take out. She got dressed and left home. She came home with him.

She knew that he would change everything for her. She introduced him to the apartment and he was thrilled. He rushed around amazed at her apartment and all the fancy things in there. He was more excited about the new relationship than she was and she was thoroughly flattered.

I guess she knew it would all work out the moment she laid eyes on him. It was one of those “love at first sight” things she’s heard about. Every time she looked into his eyes, it made her melt inside. He was perfect for her.

He was her family now. She’d soon come to see how he was the best decision she ever made.

Soon enough, she’d have to return to her mundane tasks and she did but now with a difference. She’d come back home to someone who loved her more than anything else. She had someone to care for and someone to nurture her. Someone would finally listen to her rant all day and didn’t complain one bit. She had someone who would comfort her when she needed it the most. She finally felt loved.

She obviously had to add new things to her to-do list now. It was all worth it when she looked into his big glassy eyes. To top it off, she made a couple of friends thanks to her new buddy. He became her wingman too. Everything was perfect and even if it wasn’t, He made sure she never had to go through it alone.

The only thing she had to fear now was the fact that he got more likes on Instagram than she did. That didn’t matter because she finally realized that all she needed was him.

P.S she was still single, she just got a dog.

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Love? What's that?

Love is a concept, so abstract and complex that one can’t perfectly define it.

It is the feeling of overwhelming emotions.

It is something that one doesn’t have any control over. It is like the motion of the planets around the sun or like the changing of seasons. It is a force of nature that humans have no control over.

It is said to be really powerful. It compels one into doing things they never knew they could or even imagined they ever would.

As I laughed and ridiculed the protagonist of a movie for magically awakening from his pathetic physical condition and fighting at the call of his “fair maiden”, my mom didn’t, she said that she believes that individuals could do anything for love. Yes, that is definitely exaggerated but it got me thinking about the things I’ve watched people do in the name of love.

Love makes a person lose all sense of rationality. No onlooker could ever decipher it, the stupidity of it all, but it all makes sense to that person. (I still think Romeo and Juliet were stupid but apparently they were madly in love or something, lol.)

Love is the work and care that a parent invests in his/her new born baby despite not knowing how he/she would grow up.

Love is the sleepless nights and loss of appetite that the artist dedicates to his/her passion.

Love is in the maddening sorrow, pain, frustration and anger on losing someone you grew to care so deeply about.

Love is sacrifice or the willingness to sacrifice close to anything for that person or thing that one cannot live without.

Love is like watching a snowstorm. One sees the flakes falling but doesn't realize how it's adding up. Then suddenly they realize that their lawn is covered. All these little things add up and their love becomes a snowstorm.

Basically, love is said to be powerful enough to fuel a person up to a point where they could achieve the unthinkable and here, I watch two 13 year olds who met about a month ago throw the word around to justify their infatuation.

Complex, isn't it?