Pictured: Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive Vice President, Fintech Hive, Dubai International Financial Centre

Day One of FinovateMiddleEast is in the books – which means there is one more day of our fintech conference left to go. And while Day Two will also feature fintech insiders and thought leaders discussing issues like financial inclusion, artificial intelligence, the blockchain, and fintech regulation, the second day of FinovateMiddleEast will swap live demos with emerging and incumbent fintech players for an Accelerator Showcase.

Our special spotlight on regional accelerators and incubators will feature short, 3-minute pitches from some of MENA’s youngest and most ambitious fintech startups, and will reveal the important role incubators and accelerators play in encouraging and supporting fintech innovation. If you are interested in what the future of fintech in the Middle East and North Africa looks like, our accelerator showcase is virtually a front row seat.

Here’s a look at today’s agenda. For more details, visit our FinovateMiddleEast Day Two agenda page. And remember the Best of Show awards presentation will be held this afternoon.

8:00 – 9:00: Registration, Breakfast and Networking

9:00 – 9:05: Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

9:05 – 9:45: The Future of Financial Services – AI and the Use of Blockchain Globally

9:45 – 10:05: Update on Fintech Regulation

10:05 – 10:25: Fintech Unicorn Interview

10:25 – 11:20: Myth Versus Reality: Banks’ Perspectives

11:20 – 11:50: Morning Coffee and Networking

11:50 – 12:40: Panel Discussion: Financial Inclusion in the Middle East

12:40 – 13:00: Unicorn Interview

13:00 – 14:00: Lunch and Networking

14:00 – 14:20: Fintech Interview

14:20 – 15:10: Accelerator Showcase

15:10 – 15:20: Day One Revisit – What did the banks gain? What did the fintech gain? What do investors think?

15:20 – 15:30: Chairperson’s Closing Remarks and Summary

FinovateMiddleEast has arrived in Dubai. Day One of our two-day fintech conference begins today, Monday, February 26. And after an afternoon and evening of practice runs and sound checks, our demoing companies are ready to introduce their latest fintech innovations to the world.

In addition to a slate of 14 fintech demos, Day One will also feature an interesting variety of keynote addresses and panel discussions from some of the region’s most engaged and knowledgable fintech business people, thought leaders, and investors. We’ve published an outline of today’s schedule below – including our dual track afternoon sessions on banking and payments on one side, and blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and AI on the other. So whether you like your fintech old school or new school, FinovateMiddleEast’s Afternoon Streams on Day One have you covered!

Tickets are still available. So if you’re in Dubai and interested in meeting some of the people who are helping build the future of fintech in MENA, FinovateMiddleEast on Monday and Tuesday is the place to be.

Here’s the schedule of events for today.

8:00  – 8:30: Registration, Breakfast and Networking

8:30 – 8:35: Chairperson’s Remarks

8:35  – 9:35: Demo Session 1 featuring

• RISQ
• Dorsum
• Wealth Migrate
• ebankIT
• Electronic ID
• Munnypot

9:35 – 9:40: Panel discussion: Starter for one minute – What does a fintech want? What does a bank want? What does the investor think?

9:40 – 10:20: Keynote: What can digital bankers learn from the top innovators?

10:20 – 10:30: United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Finance address and presentation on the fintech vision.

10:30 – 10:50: Embracing fintech innovation – past, present, and future

10:50 – 11:10: Bank CEO Panel: Driving innovation forward and the fintech global vision

11:10 – 11:40:  Morning Coffee Break and Networking

11:40 – 11:55: Introduction from the FinTech Hive at DIFC

11:55 -12:25:   Chatham House Rule Panel Discussion on Fintech regulation

12:25 – 13:15: Demo Session 2 featuring:

• CapitaWorld ME
• ZagTrader
• Efigence
• NewBridge Fintech Solutions
• Ondot

13:15 – 14:15: Lunch and Networking Speaker-hosted topic roundtables

Afternoon Streams: Banking and Payments / Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and AI

14:15 – 15:00: Panel Discussions: How far can we go with big wallets? / Results of an Interbank Blockchain Pilot

15:00 – 15:20: Panel Discussions: What do we mean by innovation? / Blockchain Approaches – Beyond UAE

15:20 – 15:40: Address: Discussing the fintech strategies of Indian banks / What’s Happening Now and What’s Next for AI?

15:40 – 16:10: Afternoon Coffee Break and Networking

16:10 – 16:40: Big bank fireside chat

16:40 – 17:10: Demo Session 3 featuring

• APPICS
• 0smosis
• WeInvest

17:10 – 18:10: Networking Reception, Topic Led Roundtables, Best of Show Awards Ceremony

All demo videos will be available for free in a few weeks in our video archives.

FinovateMiddleEast is just one day away. For the first time, Finovate is bringing its fintech conference of live demos and insightful keynotes and panel discussions to Dubai, the largest city in the UAE., to explore and learn about some of the exciting developments in fintech that are taking place in the Middle East and North Africa.

The presenters on stage are only part of what makes Finovate events special. Our conference attendees – hailing from all over the world – are a diverse collection of professionals from finance, technology, the investment world, and the fintech media. And it is often the case that the introductions made and business cards exchanged between attendees during our networking opportunities prove to be as valuable as the fintech demos and keynote addresses on stage. Take a look, for example, at the titles of our attendees for FinovateMiddleEast that we’ve aggregated into a word cloud below:

From C-level executives like CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs to heads of digital banking, cloud platforms, software development and more, Finovate audiences are a great source of fintech experience and insight in and of themselves. This is one of the reasons why we ensure that our attendees have ample opportunity to mix, mingle, and network both at the beginning and end of each conference day.

So with FinovateMiddleEast kicking off tomorrow, here are a few last minute, need-to-knows to help you make the most of your Finovate experience.

The What

FinovateMiddleEast is a two-day conference of live fintech demonstrations, keynote addresses, panel discussions, and peer networking opportunities. The event is Finovate’s first in the Middle East, and is being produced with the exclusive strategic partnership of the UAE Ministry of Finance.

The When

FinovateMiddleEast takes place on Monday, the 26th of February, and Tuesday, the 27th. Registration begins at 8am on both days. The program on Monday morning will start at 8:30 am. On Tuesday, the program will begin at 9am.

The Where

FinovateMiddleEast will be held at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre in Dubai, UAE. The conference and events centre is part of the Madinat Jumeirah Resort which consists of a trio of grand hotels: Jumeirah Al Qasr, Jumeirah Mina A’Salam, and Jumeirah Al Naseem.

The How

Join us in Dubai for FinovateMiddleEast by visiting our registration page and picking up your ticket. There are group discounts available, as well as discounts for members of government and regulatory entities. Check out our registration page for more information.

Also be sure to download the Finovate app – available at both the Apple Store and at Google Play. Search for “Finovate” and use the same email you used to register for FinovateMiddleEast as your login. If you are a first-time user of our app, the password is “finovate”. In the app you will find more information about our presenters, partners, and sponsors; network with your fellow FinovateMiddleEast attendees, and – importantly – vote for your favorite fintech demos in our Best of Show competition.

There is also a desktop version of the event app available at finovatemiddleeast2018.zerista.com.

The Why

FinovateMiddleEast is a great way to learn about the growing fintech scene in the Middle East and North Africa. Our live fintech demos provide an insight into the kind of challenges fintech companies operating in MENA are solving every day. Our keynote speakers and panel discussions provide the context to understand how these solutions are improving the financial lives of the more than 380 million people living in the region. For more background on fintech in MENA, a few of our thought pieces are listed below:

• The Spirit of Innovation: Fintech is Booming in MENA
• Growth, Wealth, Modernization Drive Fintech Innovation in the MENA Region
• Looking East for Fintech Trends

We are very excited to bring our fintech conference to the UAE and hope you will join us – either live here in Dubai or by following along online via our coverage on Twitter @Finovate.

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The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Finance is the Exclusive Strategic Partner of FinovateMiddleEast

FinovateMiddleEast sponsors also include UAE Exchange, Profile Software, simility, Temenos, Block Gemini, Loxon Solutions, Ortec Finance, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi Global Market

Dubai International Financial Centre is a supporting partner of FinovateMiddleEast

FinovateMiddleEast partners also include AstroLabs, Byte Academy, European Fintech Alliance, Femtech Leaders, FINOLAB, Fintech Connector, Fintech Galaxy, Fintech Professionals Association, Holland Fintech, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi Global Market, SME Finance Forum, Startupbootcamp, Startupbootcamp Fintech, Swiss Finance + Technology Association, Women Who Code

FinovateMiddleEast media partners include Aite Group, Arabnet, BankersHub, Banking Technology, BeFast.TV, Big Data Made Simple, Blockchain in Europe, BlockExplorer, Breaking Banks, Middle East Business Review, Crowdfund Insider, Financial IT, Fintech Finance, Fintechtime, Forrester, Gigabit, Headcount, IBS Intelligence, Innovate Finance, Islamic Finance News, Mercator Advisory Group, Ovum, Oxford Business Group, Plus Journal, Rainmaking Colab, RFI Group, The Fintech Times, The Nilson Report, The Paypers, Unlock Blockchain

 

Image designed by Freepik

In just two days, Finovate will make its Middle East debut. The conference begins on Monday, 26 February and continues through Tuesday, 27 February, and will feature both our signature 7-minute, live demo format as well as an exciting array of fintech visionaries and thought leaders to provide insight and context into the technological innovations we’ll see over the two days of FinovateMiddleEast.

So what are we talking about when we talk about fintech in MENA? Our FinovateMiddleEast Themes Word Cloud below offers more than a few helpful hints.

Let’s take a closer look at the top three …

AI – Leveraging artificial intelligence to solve technical challenges in finance is as important for fintechs in MENA as it is all over the world. Often combined with machine learning and data analytics, AI is enabling businesses to better understand their customers, make many operational procedures faster and less error prone, and even pave the way for a world of connected devices courtesy of the Internet of Things.

Mobile Wallets – While mobile wallet adoption has been mixed in many places, in MENA mobile wallets continue to play a major role in driving mobile payments and providing opportunities for consumers – especially the un- and underbanked – to participate more easily in e-commerce as well as giving businesses such as grocery stores, gas stations, and public transit a path toward faster payment processing and a better experience for consumers.

Wealth Management – The growing population of high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals in MENA is helping generate interest in wealth management solutions. These options range from 100% robo advisory services to wealth management firms that blend technology with human experts to provide a holistic financial advisory service.

Get to know the companies whose technologies reflect these and many more innovative trends in fintech via our FinovateMiddleEast Sneak Peek series. And for more information on our keynotes speeches and panel discussions, be sure to check out our Day One and Day Two agendas.

We are excited about Finovate’s debut in Dubai and hope you will join us in person at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre here in Dubai, UAE, or follow us online through our Live Twitter feed @Finovate.  Registration on both Monday and Tuesday will begin at 8am with refreshments and a continental breakfast available to attendees. Opening remarks on Monday will begin at 8:30; on Tuesday the first presentation begins at 9am.

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The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Finance is the Exclusive Strategic Partner of FinovateMiddleEast

FinovateMiddleEast sponsors also include UAE Exchange, Profile Software, simility, Temenos, Block Gemini, Loxon Solutions, Ortec Finance, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi Global Market

Dubai International Financial Centre is a supporting partner of FinovateMiddleEast

FinovateMiddleEast partners also include AstroLabs, Byte Academy, European Fintech Alliance, Femtech Leaders, FINOLAB, Fintech Connector, Fintech Galaxy, Fintech Professionals Association, Holland Fintech, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi Global Market, SME Finance Forum, Startupbootcamp, Startupbootcamp Fintech, Swiss Finance + Technology Association, Women Who Code

FinovateMiddleEast media partners include Aite Group, Arabnet, BankersHub, Banking Technology, BeFast.TV, Big Data Made Simple, Blockchain in Europe, BlockExplorer, Breaking Banks, Middle East Business Review, Crowdfund Insider, Financial IT, Fintech Finance, Fintechtime, Forrester, Gigabit, Headcount, IBS Intelligence, Innovate Finance, Islamic Finance News, Mercator Advisory Group, Ovum, Oxford Business Group, Plus Journal, Rainmaking Colab, RFI Group, The Fintech Times, The Nilson Report, The Paypers, Unlock Blockchain