Dubai International Financial Centre launches $10m fintech fund
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has unveiled its $10 million fintech fund for start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Plans to develop a “vibrant fintech ecosystem”
Wamda Capital and Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) will manage it.
“We are looking forward to working closely with our partners at DIFC to develop a vibrant fintech ecosystem serving the needs of our wider region,” says Khaled Talhouni, partner at Wamda Capital. “This partnership to launch a dedicated fintech fund is the first step towards catalysing innovation in this sector.”
According to a study by Mena Research Partners (MRP), start-ups are expected to attract $2 billion in investments over the next decade. This compares to $150 million worth of private-funding investments in such start-ups over the past ten years, while the number of fintech companies across MENA will rise from 130 to 260, a rise of more than 50%.
Essa Kazim, governor at DIFC, adds: “The approximate size of the wealth and asset management industry in DIFC is now $424 billion. To put this in context, that is equivalent to roughly 30% of the combined GDP [gross domestic product] of all GCC countries.”
DIFC already offers its FinTech Hive at DIFC accelerator programme.
The 12-week programme is designed to help early and growth-stage firms accelerate product and business development by gaining exposure to financial institution executives.
