MANAMA - Bahrain-based Finocracy and Denmark’s Copenhagen FinTech Hub have signed a co-operation agreement to fast-track financial technology solutions in GCC.
Former chief financial officer at Batelco, Sameer Altaf, has joined the board of directors of Finocracy. He will advise on the growing convergence of telecom and banking sector across GCC market.
Mr Altaf’s joining coincides with collaboration announced between Bahrain and Danish companies to build new fintech solutions for GCC market.
Copenhagen FinTech hosts more than 40 successful fintech businesses in their lab and more than 100 outside. The co-operation will see creation of the talent bridge and the business bridge to allow for accelerated launch of new fintech solutions across GCC and emerging markets.
“Business bridge is a game-changer. It will ease the entry of Danish firms in GCC, collaborating with Islamic banks and bringing innovative solutions for digital ready customers. It also provides GCC start-ups ready access to Danish innovations,” Finocracy managing director Ashar Nazim said.
Under the talent bridge programme, Finocracy will take up a seat in Copenhagen FinTech Hub alongside 40 challenger institutions. The channel will allow for entrepreneurs and fintech players in both markets to work closely to build and launch new solutions. GCC talent will gain access to Copenhagen’s strongly regulated, flexible innovation ecosystem to test their solutions.
The Business Bridge programme will enable successful FinTech players from Copenhagen FinTech to roll out their solutions for GCC consumers. Denmark and Copenhagen are home to several success stories such as Lunarway, a digital bank, Coinfy, a bitcoin payments solution, and Lendino, a peer-to-peer lending platform. Denmark has earned a reputation for success in innovation, incorporating human-centric design as an essential element in their approach.
Finocracy creates access to innovative solutions for Islamic banks in GCC.
“We are very happy about the collaboration. The fact that Finocracy will have physical presence in the Copenhagen FinTech Lab is a major advantage in building the bridge and the close relationship,” Copenhagen FinTech chief executive Thomas Krogh Jensen said.
“Denmark is a small country, but one of the most digitised in Europe with a strong innovative culture. This collaboration opens up a new market for our fintech companies that offer scale and exciting new business opportunities. We have already now companies looking to bring their solutions to the region,” he added.