Emirates NBD partners with ADGM for Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge

Dubai, UAE, 07 November 2021–Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, has announced a strategic collaboration with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi, as a Corporate Champion for its fifth edition of Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge. Hosted as part of Fintech Abu Dhabi, the MENA region’s largest Fintech festival, the Innovation Challenge is ADGM’s flagship initiative focussed on developing innovative solutions to transform financial services.

The Innovation Challenge focusses on searching for emerging Fintech talents and start-ups from across the globe to address real challenges championed by the financial, corporate and government institutions in the MENA region. Shortlisted Fintechs will be invited to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges at Fintech Abu Dhabi 2021 Innovation Challenge, to be held from 22 to 24 November 2021. Winners of the Challenge Statements will get the opportunity to work alongside Emirates NBD to develop proof-of-concepts (PoC) and test their solutions using the ADGM Digital Lab, with the potential to earn a commercial contract.

As a leading bank in the country, Emirates NBD has always championed the needs of homegrown SMEs that contribute significantly to the UAE economy. According to the UAE’s Ministry of Economy, the SME sector represents more than 94% of the total number of companies operating in the country and contributes around 40% to Dubai’s GDP. With this in mind, the Challenge Statements provided by Emirates NBD this year, are aimed to address the needs of the SME community in UAE.

Commenting on the announcement, Miguel Rio Tinto, Group Chief Information Officer, Emirates NBD said, “As a front-runner in digital banking, innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Emirates NBD. We are delighted to partner with ADGM for this year’s Innovation Challenge and see this as an excellent opportunity to explore fintech capabilities and encourage innovation within the region. Our partnership is also well aligned with Emirates NBD’s long-term digital strategy, as the bank continues to champion innovation in digital banking and actively participate in the fintech start-up ecosystem.

“We are excited to see what the emerging fintech talent and start-ups from across the globe have to offer to address real challenges faced by SMEs in the UAE,” Tinto added.

“We are pleased to have Emirates NBD join us as a corporate champion, leveraging Fintech Abu Dhabi’s network to scout for their innovation needs. We look forward to supporting them as they form partnerships with start-ups and build new functionalities for their SME clients utilising the ADGM Digital Lab” said Wai Lum Kwok, Senior Executive Director – Authorisation (FSRA), Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).