Financial technology companies in the Dubai International Financial Centre have raised a combined $3.3 billion in venture funding, with growth in line with the onshore financial hub’s goal of doubling its contribution to the emirate’s economy, the DIFC governor has said.
FinTech was the fastest-growing sector for the DIFC last year, with Dubai's location allowing FinTech companies an “unparalleled access” to a market of more than three billion people with an aggregate GDP exceeding $12 trillion, Essa Kazim said on Monday at the Dubai FinTech Summit.
“We saw unprecedented growth in 2023 with FinTech and innovation as the fastest growing sector with 902 registered companies, a 31 per cent increase from the previous year,” Mr Kazim said.
The total number has since grown to more than 1,000 companies in the DIFC, one of the top financial centres in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.
“This accelerated growth trajectory is perfectly aligned with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33,” he said.
Launched in January, D33 aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy, with a target of reaching Dh32 trillion by 2033.
The economic agenda also aims to make Dubai a global digital economy leader, the fastest growing and most attractive global business centre, a hub for sustainability and economic diversification, as well as an incubator for talented citizens and unicorns.
The DIFC has been expanding five times faster than the emirate's average GDP growth over the past 10 years, contributing about 6 per cent to its GDP until the past year.
It aims to double its contribution to Dubai’s economy by 2030 and is banking on sectors including wealth and asset management as well as FinTech to help it achieve its end-of-the-decade goals.
Last year, 316 FinTech companies established a presence at DIFC, while its count for wealth and asset management companies grew to 350, pushing the number of total active companies to 5,523 that employ more than 41,500 people.
Dubai in recent years has undergone a surge in FinTech investment, with total FinTech funding reaching $2.3 billion in 2023 alone, according to Magnitt data.
Global investment in FinTech companies also surged past $100 billion mark in 2023, a 50 per cent annual increase, which underpins the “robust investor appetite for FinTech innovations”, Mr Kazim said, citing data from CB Insights.
The rapid growth of FinTech is also pushing wealth managers as well as global exchange operators to evolve their own technology products and offerings to stay relevant amid increasing competition from FinTech companies across the board.
“If we look at the growth trajectory of our business, already we generate more revenue on the elements of our business outside of our exchanges ... than we do in our exchange business,” said Adena Friedman, chief executive of Nasdaq.
“We are likely to be more of a FinTech provider over the next 10 years than an exchange operator, although both roles are equally critical to our strategy.”
Having the exchange businesses creates the foundation and allows Nasdaq to grow and expand and “everything we do is all interconnected”, she added.
For asset managers, it is also important to evolve along with how their clients consume information and make investments in a rapidly changing technological landscape.
“Our clients have been changing over decades and over the years and they will continue to change, and Julius Baer has to continue to be part of that change. In terms of our clients what we see these days [changing] is obviously information,” said Nic Dreckmann, chief executive of Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
“I think we always need to look to expand, we need to look at what is our value proposition.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Race card:
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m
7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m
10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Carzaty%2C%20now%20Kavak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20launched%20in%202018%2C%20Kavak%20in%20the%20GCC%20launched%20in%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20140%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Automotive%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarzaty%20raised%20%246m%20in%20equity%20and%20%244m%20in%20debt%3B%20Kavak%20plans%20%24130m%20investment%20in%20the%20GCC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
The years Ramadan fell in May
