Manama: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced a partnership today officially endorsing the launch of Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) and its Fintech initiatives in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The announcement is the most recent in a series of steps affirming the CBB’s commitment to developing Bahrain into a leader of Fintech innovation and investment in the GCC region.
The CBB and its recently announced FinTech and Innovation Unit will work closely with the BFB to support the development of the Bahrain Fintech ecosystem and ensure the participation of financial institutions seeking to innovate and invest in Fintech. In addition, the CBB will work closely to support innovators at the BFB in providing access and guidance to its regulatory framework, including the Regulatory Sandbox.
The BFB will be the first dedicated Fintech hub and corporate incubator in the Middle East & Africa region. It is located in the Arcapita building overlooking Bahrain Bay and with 10,000 sq.ft. of state of the art facilities including co-working spaces, communal areas, workstations and other shared infrastructure. The hub will be operated by Fintech Consortium, a global fintech ecosystem builder and operator. The BFB platform and offering is set to create ideal conditions to attract both local and international corporate innovation labs and FinTech start-ups to collaborate on developing, testing, scaling and deploying new technologies in Bahrain and the wider GCC region. The BFB will form part of a growing global network operated by the Fintech Consortium, comprising of Singapore, New York, and now, Bahrain.
“We are pleased to endorse Bahrain FinTech Bay and support its strategy towards positioning Bahrain as a regional leader in Fintech,” Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of the CBB, said.
“Its launch complements our initiative to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework for Fintech and to encourage its adoption by market participants as they look to prepare for the future. The CBB is confident that this level of partnership and coordination with the BFB will only enhance the Bahrain ecosystem and nurture further innovation.”
“We are delighted to receive this endorsement from the Central Bank of Bahrain and look forward to our partnership with the CBB’s Fintech Unit. We believe that close coordination on all matters pertaining to the development of new innovation will be important in promoting Bahrain’s advanced, robust and fintech friendly regulations to innovators globally,” Maissan Al Maskati, Chairman of FinTech Consortium Bahrain said.
