Bahrain EDB leads talks on diversity driven FinTech at Innovate Finance

Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) will be in attendance at the 2019 Innovate Finance Global Summit, hosting a roundtable discussion on ‘Diversity-driven innovation: how inclusivity can transform FinTech,’ at 16:15BST on Tuesday 30 April. Several members of EDB’s executive team will be in attendance and available for comment.

EDB’s focus at the event will be on diversity and inclusivity as key drivers of innovation in the financial services sector – in particular addressing the need for a variety of commentators and collaborators to achieve true innovation. Discussion points will include commentary around the promotion of women in FinTech being about more than gender equality, as well as what new opportunities are emerging to entrench diversity in the FinTech community.

Bahrain’s FinTech ecosystem has rapidly expanded in recent years, with several key developments, such as the region’s first on-shore regulatory sandbox, strengthening leadership in the field. To further cement its global leadership in financial services innovation, the Kingdom of Bahrain is implementing a diverse workforce to help generate and foster new ideas. This initiative is further supported by education drives – in 2018, it was estimated that over 60% of University of Bahrain students in computer science and programming were women.

Would you be interested in speaking to Dalal Buhejji, Senior Manager of Financial Services at EDB, to learn more about the opportunities and challenges around diversification as a driver of innovation?

Briefings can be scheduled in-person at the event or via telephone. Commentary can also be provided around:

• Key learnings from the roundtable discussion on women in FinTech
• Key learnings from the Innovate Finance Global Summit, particularly around developing FinTech technologies and the impact of technology on society
• The region’s first comprehensive set of regulations for cryptocurrency – issued earlier this year
• How Bahrain has become a significant FinTech presence in its own right, and, with a banking environment ripe for technological innovation, heading towards a new phase of growth
• How FinTech is breaking down all kinds of barriers, encouraging intra-regional and global trade