On A Fintech Drive
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How Bahrain is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil, and attract Indian and global fintech startups and entrepreneurs
It is a good time to start something in fintech in Bahrain,” says Vinod Nagar, VP, Marketing, PayTabs. “So our founder Abdulaziz Aljouf thought Bahrain more cost effective and we got really good support from the Bahraini authorities.”
Increasingly fintech firms are looking at Bahrain to expand their offerings in the Gulf and African regions, and PayTabs is among the new startups that offers payment solutions for e-commerce and small businesses in the region. In fact, PayTabs has chosen Bahrain as its operational hub. “We are serving in almost 17 markets with Bahrain as the hub that allows us to look at the entire region,” says Nagar.
With the global investment in fintech investment reaching $3.2 billion in 2016, Bahrain is also looking at positioning itself to attract the top fintech companies from across the globe particularly from countries such as India, among others.
To spur investments in the fintech domain, the Central Bank of Bahrain has launched the Bahrain regulatory sandbox that provides a virtual platform for fintech companies to test their financial prowess and technology-based solutions. The sandbox concept offers new fintech firms the opportunity for expansion and innovation in the financial services innovation.
