Fintech Saudi fosters 12 innovative companies through the accelerator programme

RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Central Bank, also known as SAMA, plans to make Saudi Arabia a regional financial technology hub as part of its strategy to implement the financial sector development program planned in the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan, a top official said.

Speaking exclusively to Arab News, SAMA’s Deputy Governor for Development and Technology Ziad Al Yousef said the central bank is developing regulations to address new business models to help and guide entrepreneurs in the payment, investment and financing sectors.

“We have issued 11 new regulations in the last two years to support new fintech ideas and business models. This is a continuous journey and we are going to accelerate this now with the approval of the national fintech strategy which is now part of the vision 2030, Al Yousef said.

Al Yousef further stated that SAMA had also fostered 12 companies from different domains as part of the fintech accelerator programme.

He added that the banking authority is working with local and international entities to help support the fintech ecosystem in the Kingdom.

“There are various initiatives, which include initiatives related to talent development, obtaining funding for fintech companies and creating partnerships with local and international players,” he so.

Last month, the Ministry of Finance stated that according to the national fintech strategy, the number of companies is expected to increase from 82 to 230 by 2025.

It also seeks to increase the fintech sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to SR4.5 billion ($1.2 billion) and create nearly 6,000 jobs by 2025, in addition to increasing the share of digital transactions to 70 percent of all financial transactions.

The strategy aims to increase the cumulative value of venture capital investment in fintech companies to reach SR 2.6 billion by 2025 to increase domestic and foreign investment and create nearly 18,000 jobs by 2030.

In addition to increasing the sector’s contribution to GDP to SR 13 billion by 2030, the new plan also aims to increase investment in fintech companies to SR 12 billion.

The Kingdom has performed well in digitizing financial transactions after surpassing the expected 55 percent with 57 percent in 2021.

In addition, the number of fintech companies in the digital payments sector increased to 30, and the number of payments made via smart devices at point-of-sale terminals increased by 282 percent in 2021.

Future solutions that will enhance the execution of the strategy include payments, capital market services, lending, insurance and data.

The Financial Sector Development Program was launched in 2017 to enable financial institutions to support the growth of the private sector, develop an advanced capital market and enhance and enable financial planning.