Under the auspices of the Governor of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA), Dr. Fahad Almubarak, and the Chairman of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Mr. Mohammed ElKuwaiz, Fintech Saudi organized the closing ceremony of the second cohort of Fintech Accelerator on Tuesday 07/26/2022.
The 12 fintech companies from the Fintech Accelerator program presented their innovative solutions, the culmination of months of hard work that helped to develop their product strategies and business models, gaining expertise and knowledge from international and local experts.
dr Fahad Almubarak delivered the opening speech while Mr. Mohammed Elkuwaiz welcomed the visitors and reaffirmed SAMA and CMA’s support for entrepreneurs in the FinTech sector.
For his part, the Governor of SAMA stated: “The role of start-up fintech companies goes beyond the provision of innovative financial services and includes supporting the broader spectrum of the economy. At SAMA, in collaboration with the CMA and our government and private sector partners, we aim to develop the fintech sector within the ambitious national strategy being launched by the Crown Prince, Chair of the Supreme Committee for Research, Development and Innovation, and below the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) was published – one of the Saudi Vision 2030 programs. Such efforts are being made to fulfill the leadership’s aspirations to make the Kingdom a world-class financial center.”
“This year, the Saudi fintech industry has seen the most venture capital investment deals. This is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims for the Kingdom to develop a leading financial sector that keeps pace with the rapid technological revolution. By building regulatory frameworks that attract innovative business models and deploying new technologies that have the potential to drive the delivery of financial products and services, we can take the financial services industry to new heights, stimulate investment, foster economic development and empower entrepreneurs .” said Mr. Alkuwaiz
Fintech Saudi Acting Director Nezar Al Haidar noted that the Kingdom has emerged as a hub for innovation and growth in the fintech industry due to the unwavering support of the Saudi central bank and capital markets authority.
Stressing that the program has succeeded in helping entrepreneurs to advance the development of their innovative fintech solutions faster than they otherwise could have done, he explained that the second cohort, consisting of 12 fintech companies, Expanding the achievements of the first Fintech Accelerator program (2021).
During the ceremony, Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center (Wa’ed), a supporting partner of the Fintech Accelerator program, offered the three winning fintech startups a financial grant of SAR 50,000 each, as well as the opportunity to apply for the Business Incubation program presented by Join Wa’ed to guide companies as they seek to make venture investments while growing their businesses. It is worth noting that Wa’ed was established to accelerate the growth of leading companies in the Kingdom by investing in high growth sectors such as fintech, thereby supporting the further development of the local entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Closely. Fahad Alidi, Managing Director of Wa’ed, said the partnership with Fintech Saudi is an extension of Wa’ed’s strategy to diversify its support for local and international startups and fund their growth, stressing the essential role which regulators are playing in encouraging more private investment into the fintech industry.
The Fintech Accelerator Program Demo Day included an exhibition area for fintech companies that participated in the first and second cohorts of the program. In the exhibition area, 21 fintech companies presented their innovative products and solutions to investors, banks, potential partners, other key stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and members of the fintech community. The participating companies showed amazing growth and advances in the development of innovative fintech products that directly address societal needs and provide solutions to pressing problems.
Fintech Saudi is an initiative launched by the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia in April 2018 in cooperation with the Capital Markets Authority. Its goals are to transform the Kingdom into a hub for FinTech innovation, build a thriving and responsible ecosystem, and support entrepreneurs by fostering the growth of the infrastructure needed to develop the industry.
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