Welcome to Fintech Founders Monthly for April 2022!
We are about to end the first quarter of 2022 and the Fintech Founders Series has already hosted two insightful episodes with entrepreneurs who have outstanding and inspiring career journeys.
In the first episode, we deep-dived into the Israeli Fintech market to uncover how to support financial inclusion in emerging markets, what it takes to connect financial institutions, and the opportunities of the Israeli Fintech market.
In our second episode, we learned about supporting financial inclusion in Africa, and the challenges of retaining Fintech talents.
Gain Fintech and entrepreneurial insights with our episodes, and catchup with the latest funding-related news from the MEASA region. Let’s get started!
Quotable Quotes from our FinTech Founders
“There is no new solution for banking right now. It is actually built on the same ideas that we had 2000 years ago.“
Izhar Arieli, Co-Founder and CEO of TenureX
“We want to be the Square of Africa. We’re already at that stage now by bringing in payments, credits, cross-border payments and business operations as our four main pillars.“
Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of TeamApt
How to Bring Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets?
The untold story of Izhar Arieli, Co-Founder and CEO of TenureX.
Israeli Fintech ecosystems have witnessed unstoppable funding rounds with investments in fintech startups reaching more than $4.5 billion in 2022. TenureX is one of the most valuable and fastest-growing fintech startups in Israel.
Before launching his Fintech company, TenureX’s CEO Izhar Arieli started by interviewing hundreds of bankers, VCs and c-suite executives during 6 months. Aiming at revolutionising how banks send and receive money internationally, he made sure to completely frame the problem to create a product that is a “no-brainer”. This background research helped TenureX to convince financial institutions to try new solutions.
How to be the Square of Africa
The untold story of Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of TeamApt.
Fintech is the hottest sector in the African tech ecosystem, and TeamApt supports the ecosystem as one of Nigeria’s largest multi-channel payments platforms in the African region. In episode fifteenth of the Fintech Founders Series, Tosin Eniolorunda shared what it takes to build a platform that can facilitate financial happiness for the next billion Africans.
TeamApt’s founder Tosin Eniolorunda started his Fintech journey at Interswitch, one of the first companies in the world bringing financial technology services in Africa. Leveraging his skills and knowledge as a programmer at the time, he then founded his company that helped banks digitise their back-office. Today, Tosin’s fintech Team Apt is one of the fastest growing fintech companies in Africa, connecting 160,000 businesses in the region.
What happened in Fintech last month in the MEASA region
In case you missed it, here are some of the must-read news pieces in the FinTech MEASA World. Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have witnessed various funding rounds and regulatory acts which highlight the promising growth plans for the region and Fintech hubs.
Dubai Crown Prince Launches an AED370 Million Startup Growth Fund
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, approved the launch of the ‘Venture Debt Fund for Startups’ to bolster and sustain startup projects in the emirate. With a capital of approximately AED370 million, the Fund aims to drive Dubai’s economic growth and fortify its position as a global hub for financial technology (FinTech), innovation, and venture capital. The Fund will come into effect starting June 2022.
Banque Saudi Fransi Taps Backbase to Elevate Its Customers’ Digital Experience
Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) has announced a new partnership with Backbase, an engagement banking platform provider, to transform its digital customer experiences. The bank said in a statement that the Backbase platform will enable a superior customer experience for its retail customers, giving them an immersive journey that will help them onboard instantly – either through the web or via mobile – and digitally apply for other banking products.
MENA’s Fintech App for School Fees Secures $9.4M Seed Round
Zenda, MENA’s first fintech app for families, has announced it has secured a $9.4m oversubscribed seed round. Zenda currently addresses pain points around the payment of school fees – in particular, the lack of convenience and flexibility in payment options for parents and the poor collection of payments for schools.
Kraken: First Licensed Global Virtual Asset Exchange in Abu Dhabi
Kraken is the first global cryptocurrency exchange to receive a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in the ADGM to service the needs of the Middle East and North Africa region. Kraken has met all approval conditions from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM to operate as a Virtual Asset Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and Custodian in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.
Tarabut Gateway Becomes First Regulated Open Banking Platform in the UAE
Tarabut Gateway has been granted a licence by Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to provide money services in and from Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). By obtaining this licence, Tarabut Gateway further cements its position in the UAE and plans to boost innovation in the sector, set new industry standards, and support the financial ecosystem.
Binance Secures In-Principle Approval to Operate in Abu Dhabi
Binance, a global blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider received the in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a broker-dealer in virtual assets. Upon the successful completion of its ADGM FSRA application, Binance will then be able to offer its services regarding virtual asset offerings to customers across the Middle East and North Africa region, through its subsidiary Binance (AD) Limited.
Digital Platform and Payment Company KMMRCE Holdings Opens Its Headquarters in Dubai
MMRCE Holdings, a leading digital specialist combining flexible cloud management solutions with comprehensive finance capabilities, has announced the opening of its headquarters in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Codebase Technologies Launches Its White-Label BNPL Solution
Codebase Technologies, a Dubai-based open API banking solutions provider, announced that it is rolling out a white-label Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution. Leveraging Codebase Technologies’ digital banking platform, DigibancTM, the new BNPL component allows for banks, fintechs, lenders, and retailers to create and launch their own branded BNPL offering.
You can find all of the sessions of Fintech and Web3 Founders Series here.
