Fintech Surge 2024 concludes the final day with a ‘Future of Money’ agenda focused on empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through fintech. The agenda offers insights on innovative banking solutions and digital trends SMEs can tap into to propel financial growth. It began with a visionary keynote, “Business in Dubai,” by Anwer Pirani, Manager—Digital Economy Ecosystem at Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE), UAE.
He highlighted DCDE’s mandate to help grow the technology ecosystem in Dubai, with the session focused on its main initiative Business in Dubai. He emphasised how they “helped support over 550 companies through the initiative in 2023, making one-to-one quality connections with the appropriate stakeholders, nine of which were large multinational entities. And for this year already, from January to September, we have already helped over 500 companies, so we’re already getting more traction.”
In an increasingly digital world, the visionary dialogue “Digitising MSMEs for Financial Growth” uncovered how micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can use the latest innovative digital trends – such as cloud computing an AI – to accelerate growth.
Nicolas Levi, CEO of du Pay, UAE, commented: “Everyone is using AI, but where we see the benefits in the fintech space is first to manage customer services at a lower cost for us and a more accurate service for all customers. For instance, if you look at investment products, currently all wealthy people use private bankers or dedicated people to do the thinking on the way to invest money for them. AI will bring a solution which is available to all. It won’t only be for people who want to invest large sums of money, but maybe those who want to invest smaller amounts such as 100 or 200 dirhams.”
Another future-focused session, “Conversation Circle: Cool Cash—Future Trends in Lending, Microfinance & Investments” looked at future lending trends and what SMEs should consider as global lending and financing trends continue to evolve.
When asked what advice panellists would give to SMEs who are looking to secure financing in the face of global instability, Ibrahim Abdelrahim, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Moonbase Capital, Spain, said: “Given the instability of interest rates, be very mindful of the macro system – what’s happening around you. As SMEs we used to focus on ‘us’ and the micro system, but more and more the world is becoming a village and now you need to be able to see what’s happening in the future, what’s happening in countries around you and what’s expected. Which is not easy.”
Chérifatou Ibrahima Agoumo, Regional Innovation and Technology Advisor, West Africa at CARE USA, Niger, added, further advice including diversifying financing streams, ensuring good communication – particularly when talking to corporates – and “leveraging digital platforms such as GoFundMe, which are specifically recommended for small and medium enterprises as they’re a good opportunity to attracts funds but also bring visibility to your services and solutions.”
Taking place in Dubai, a key driver of innovation within Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) fintech landscape, Fintech Surge 2024 has welcomed over 1,200 investors from a range of industry sectors, including fintech and digital innovation. These investors have come together to explore fresh business opportunities and engage with emerging trends shaping the ecosystem.
Saagar Bhavsar, Partner at Begin Capital, commented: “It’s clear that this region offers immense opportunities for fintechs looking to scale beyond their home markets, and we’ve already identified some promising companies at Fintech Surge that align with our investment strategy. As a London-based fund focusing on Seed and Series A funding, we’re particularly interested in the cross-border payments space. We had the opportunity to meet a range of innovative startups in this area, many of which are looking to establish or expand their presence in Dubai.”
