Latest news with #DubaiFinTechSummit2025
Mid East Info
03-07-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Cigna Healthcare Becomes First Health Partner for UAE Startup Ecosystem Ignyte - Middle East Business News and Information
Companies registered with Ignyte gain access to tailored health plans from Cigna Healthcare Coverage includes mental health support, chronic condition care, and workplace wellness tools tailored for start-up companies. Dubai, UAE:July, 2025 – Cigna Healthcare Middle East, a global health services company, has signed a MoU with Ignyte, to provide comprehensive and scalable health coverage to start-ups registered with Ignyte. Ignyte is a key initiative under the Dubai Digital Economy Strategy, designed to drive exponential growth for start-ups across industries. This announcement makes Cigna Healthcare the first and exclusive healthcare provider associated with Ignyte. The agreement was signed during the Dubai FinTech Summit 2025, at Madinat Jumeirah, by Leah Cotterill, CEO of Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa (outside KSA), and Mohammad Alblooshi, Chief Executive Officer of the DIFC Innovation Hub. Cigna Healthcare will offer companies registered with Ignyte, access to affordable and flexible coverage plans that encompass founder and employee wellbeing, mental health, workplace wellness, and more. The policies also cover chronic health conditions, and plans can be scaled up as the startup continues to grow. Under the partnership, customers can benefit from exclusive discounts and a simple, hassle-free digital experience powered by Cigna Envoy®, featuring easy-to-use claim submission options. As Ignyte's go-to health and wellbeing partner, Cigna Healthcare Middle East is also able to tailor specific solutions for its 1,000+ startups and more than 100 mentors and investors. Leah Cotterill stated: 'Ignyte is shaping an exciting generation of businesses, and we are proud to be their go-to health and wellbeing partner. We believe that sustainable growth begins with investing in individuals. This partnership guarantees that startups and their teams have access to appropriate health solutions from the outset, enabling them to concentrate on building, scaling, and driving innovation with assurance. Mohammad Alblooshi said: 'Ignyte's mission is to empower entrepreneurs, and this partnership with Cigna Healthcare reinforces this goal by ensuring that all startups grow from a strong foundation of wellbeing. Health is not only a form of support, but it has also become a true strategic and competitive advantage in the business world.' Ignyte members can benefit from Cigna Healthcare's Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides access to work/life resources and licensed clinicians to help individuals cope with a wide variety of concerns, from family and financial issues to emotional health and stress. About Cigna Healthcare: Cigna Healthcare is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health and vitality. With a heritage of over 250 years, Cigna Healthcare is committed to its promise of being together all the way in providing health care, clinical management, and wellness programs to employers, individuals, and governments around the world. Operating for more than 19 years in the Middle East region, Cigna Healthcare serves the GCC markets and Lebanon through its locally regulated entities. The company delivers both health and wellness services to individuals, employers, and government entities in the region. Cigna Healthcare has a deep understanding of the African continent for over 60 years, servicing over 250,000 members. Cigna Healthcare services corporates through direct partnerships with locally licensed insurers in each market, providing health insurance for local companies and multinationals. Cigna Healthcare maintains a global sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions, employing over 72,000 people who service more than 164 million customer relationships.
Business Recorder
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
UAE FinTech market set to hit $5.71 bn by 2029
The UAE FinTech market is expected to grow from $3.16 billion in 2024 to $5.71 billion by 2029, according to 'From code to capital: The UAE's FinTech revolution' 2025 report, published by Emirates NBD, in collaboration with PwC. It was previewed at the recent Dubai FinTech Summit 2025, where it was revealed that fintech startups in the UAE attracted around $265 million in 2024 – approximately one-third of total startup funding in the country. It also highlighted the proliferation of digital adoption, venture capital investment, as well as the widespread integration of AI. This surge has been powered by widespread consumer adoption, investor confidence, and strong partnerships across public and private sectors, added the report. Neeraj Makin, group head of strategy, analytics and venture capital at Emirates NBD said, 'The UAE's $265 million of FinTech funding in 2024 signals strong investor confidence. Bolstered by a robust venture capital network, diverse talent, and clear exit paths, the UAE is primed to attract even greater investment and cultivate future FinTech leaders.' Stephen Anderson, Strategy Leader at PwC Middle East, said, 'This report illuminates the dynamic FinTech landscape within Dubai. We see a region transformed by innovation, driven by technology and visionary strategies,' he was quoted as saying. The report also highlighted the impact of artificial intelligence in transforming every layer of financial services from personalization to compliance and risk modeling. In 2024, Dubai's venture-capital-backed FDI soared 39 per cent in 2024, attracting $222 million that flowed into startups based in Dubai – underscoring the city's growing appeal among global venture firms. Dubai was also recently ranked in the top five cities for fintech in the latest edition of Global Financial Centre Index (GFCI) rankings, with success being attributed to the contributions of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) over the past 20 years.
Mid East Info
24-06-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
UAE Set to Lead Middle East FinTech Growth, reveals FinTech 2025 Industry Report by Emirates NBD and PwC - Middle East Business News and Information
UAE FinTech startups raised USD 265 million in 2024, representing one-third of national startup funding The UAE FinTech market is projected to grow from USD 3.16 billion in 2024 to USD 5.71 billion by 2029 89% of UAE consumers now use digital-first bank accounts Artificial Intelligence is transforming financial services, enhancing personalisation, compliance and risk management Collaboration across the ecosystem and innovative policies are driving regional FinTech leadership Dubai, United Arab Emirates,June 2025: Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT), has released 'From code to capital: The UAE's FinTech revolution' 2025 report, developed in collaboration with PwC. Recently previewed at the Dubai FinTech Summit 2025, where the Bank served as Premium Banking Partner, the report offers a data-led outlook on the UAE's evolving FinTech landscape and provides a roadmap for ecosystem stakeholders driving financial innovation. Positioned as an industry-wide outlook, the FinTech 2025 Report offers insights into key regional trends from a surge in digital adoption and venture capital investment, to the widespread integration of AI. The UAE is increasingly recognised as a hub for FinTech activity, underpinned by strong regulatory support and a maturing ecosystem. Neeraj Makin, Group Head of Strategy, Analytics and Venture Capital at Emirates NBD, said: 'We are proud to launch the FinTech 2025 Report, showcasing the UAE's success as a FinTech hub, supported by Emirates NBD's innovation. The UAE's USD 265 million of FinTech funding in 2024 signals strong investor confidence. Bolstered by a robust venture capital network, diverse talent, and clear exit paths, the UAE is primed to attract even greater investment and cultivate future FinTech leaders.' According to the report, FinTech startups in the UAE attracted around USD 265 million in 2024 – approximately one-third of total startup funding in the country. The local FinTech market is expected to grow from USD 3.16 billion in 2024 to USD 5.71 billion by 2029, powered by widespread consumer adoption, investor confidence, and strong partnerships across public and private sectors. Miguel Rio-Tinto, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer at Emirates NBD, said: 'Emirates NBD is proud to help drive the FinTech revolution in the region through strategic partnerships, in-house innovation and venture investments. With this report, we demonstrate how established banks can leverage FinTech for growth, efficiency and superior customer experiences. As the industry continues to evolve, we remain committed to building an open, collaborative ecosystem that delivers long-term value to our customers and the wider financial sector.' Stephen Anderson, Strategy Leader at PwC Middle East, said: 'This report illuminates the dynamic FinTech landscape within Dubai. We see a region transformed by innovation, driven by technology and visionary strategies. Our commitment is to empower clients, partners, and communities to thrive in this smarter, connected financial future and the UAE is at the forefront of this revolution.' The report also highlights the transformative impact of artificial intelligence in reshaping every layer of financial services from personalisation to compliance and risk modeling. Emirates NBD's evolution from pre-AI to post-AI operations has led to measurable improvements in efficiency, control, and scale. As FinTech continues to scale, the report encourages proactive collaboration between banks and startups by embracing open APIs, regulatory sandboxes, and co-branded innovation models, critical to sustaining industry momentum and deepening customer impact. Read the full report. About Emirates NBD: Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 9 million active customers. As of 31st March 2025, total assets were AED 1 trillion, (equivalent to approx. USD 272 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 839 branches and 4,539 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 4.54 billion. Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv, the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region. Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE's main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is committed to supporting the UAE's Year of Sustainability as Principal Banking Partner of COP28 and an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.
Al Etihad
26-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Alibaba Cloud MENA chief bullish on expansion in UAE and region
27 May 2025 00:38 MAITHEM AL ANBARI (ABU DHABI)Alibaba Cloud recently made a significant impact at the Dubai FinTech Summit 2025 by announcing partnerships with LuLu Financial Holdings and Ant Digital Technologies. These collaborations aim to enhance financial innovation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through advanced cloud solutions and generative AI technologies. Aletihad met with Eric Wan, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud International and General Manager for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, to discuss the company's plans for expansion in the region. Here are excerpts from the interview: Alibaba Cloud is recognised as one of the largest online and mobile commerce enterprises globally. How would you describe Alibaba Cloud's participation in the Fintech Summit in the UAE?Alibaba Cloud has benefited from robust participation at the Dubai FinTech Summit 2025. We announced strategic partnerships with LuLu Financial Holdings and Ant Digital Technologies during the summit. We also hosted a panel discussion at the summit focused on the future of financial services in an AI-powered world. The panel featured industry experts, including executives from Lulu Financial Holdings, Wio Bank and Zand Bank. How would you characterise Alibaba Cloud's position within the fintech market, and what are the anticipated developments for the future?Alibaba Cloud holds a significant strategic position in the fintech market, owing to its robust cloud infrastructure and advanced technologies that can empower financial institutions with high performance and scalability. Once companies delegate infrastructure management to the cloud, they can focus their efforts on their core competencies. We are recognised as a leading cloud provider globally and in the region and have been expanding our footprint in the fintech sector through various strategic partnerships and innovative solutions. Here in the MENA region, we offer a wide range of cloud-based services. These solutions provide the necessary agility, scalability, and security required by financial institutions to innovate and grow. Integrating cutting-edge technologies like AI and data analytics into our cloud offerings allows fintech companies to enhance customer experiences, improve operational efficiencies, and ensure regulatory compliance. Given our global presence – in 87 zones across 29 regions – we support fintech companies in scaling up their operations. In the UAE, besides the recent partnerships with Lulu Financial Holdings and Ant Digital Technologies, we also announced our collaboration with Zand Bank, the first fully licensed all-digital bank in the UAE. This partnership focuses on leveraging generative AI, blockchain, and payment technologies to boost the bank's digital capabilities. What insights can you offer regarding Alibaba Cloud's expansion in the UAE and the agreements it has established with local counterparts?The UAE is a key market due to its thriving economy, tech-savvy population, and strategic location as a global trade hub. Alibaba Cloud is fully committed to long-term investment and expansion in the region, and we have our sights set on more strategic partnerships and investments in digital infrastructure. We believe our strengths in technologies such as AI and cloud computing, and industry solutions in e-commerce, fintech, media, gaming, etc., will likely play a crucial role in supporting the UAE's vision for a diversified and innovative economy. As a first mover in public cloud computing, Alibaba Cloud established a presence here by opening a data centre in Dubai Internet City back in November 2016. With a goal to provide local businesses with robust, secure, and high-performing capabilities, this data centre underwent an upgrade to include state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure, enhanced analytics, databases, industry solutions, and AI services. We have been serving hundreds of customers from different sectors, especially retail, finance, media, gaming, and internet, in the UAE market. In March 2024, we also launched the MEA region's Alibaba Cloud Academy Training Centre. The centre empowers our ecosystem partners and customers by delivering physical and virtual training workshops and certification courses to equip them with the skills needed to thrive in a digital economy. We partnered with Mawdoo3, the GCC's largest online content publisher, to provide the platform with a cost-effective and high-performance cloud infrastructure, including services such as Elastic Computing Service and Relational Database Service (RDS). Another significant project involved the implementation of Alibaba Cloud's Web Application Firewall (WAF) for WEMART, a prominent supermarket chain in the Middle East, taking its business from offline to online during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Alibaba Cloud is being chosen by more and more local businesses as their trusted cloud service provider, we are positive that we will continue to grow. What are the forthcoming initiatives for Alibaba as a group, including Alibaba's cloud business, international expansion, or trends in financial performance?Looking ahead, Alibaba Cloud views the Middle East as a region ripe with opportunities, driven by its rapid digital transformation across various sectors. I want to emphasise Alibaba Cloud's long-term commitment to investing in the market and to contributing to the success of our local customers and partners. We will continue to introduce leading products and proven solutions in the AI and cloud computing sector to serve our local customers. We will expand our ecosystem with more local partners on board to address sector-specific pain points. We also plan to collaborate with more universities to enhance digital talent training.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alona Shevtsova of Sends Highlights the Future of Responsible AI at Dubai FinTech Summit 2025
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2025) - Sends, a British payment provider, participated in Dubai FinTech Summit 2025, which occurred on May 12-13 at Madinat Jumeirah. Organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the event draws over 9,000 attendees from 120+ countries, including top investors, founders, regulators, and fintech leaders. Sends To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: Representing Sends, CEO Alona Shevtsova participated in a discussion on How regulators are shaping the future of AI in finance. The session addressed the balance between innovation and oversight in a rapidly evolving tech-driven industry. "Responsible AI is the future of finance. As AI rapidly transforms the financial sector, the role of regulators becomes crucial in setting ethical, transparent, and innovation-friendly frameworks. Clear and adaptive regulation protects consumers and market integrity and gives fintechs the confidence to build AI-driven solutions responsibly. Collaboration between innovators and regulators is the key to unlocking AI's full potential in finance," said Alona Shevtsova, CEO of Sends. This year's "FinTech for All" summit spotlights key topics such as AI, blockchain, digital economies, and sustainable finance. Sends showcases its latest innovations in cross-border payments, regulatory technology, and embedded financial infrastructure, underscoring its commitment to building a transparent, secure, and inclusive financial system. Given the growing influence of the Dubai Fintech Summit and the strategic role of Dubai as a fintech hub, it is expected to continue as an annual event, fostering innovation and collaboration in the financial technology sector. Sends is a valuable financial tool for both business and personal use. This spring, the company launched a zero-fee personal account opening offer. Learn more Contact Information For media inquiries or support, contact:support@ | contact@ Sends is a trade name of SMARTFLOW PAYMENTS LIMITED, registered in England and Wales (Company No. 11070048). Address: Office 39.18, Level39, One Canada Square, London, England, E14 5AB Marketing Department contacts: pr@ Contact: Anastasiia Pervushyna To view the source version of this press release, please visit Sign in to access your portfolio
