Fintech Galaxy And ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) To Support Cross-Border Growth Of FinTechs In MENA And Asia

Fintech Galaxy, the MENA region’s first cross-border, open innovation platform and marketplace for collaboration between FinTechs and financial institutions, has signed a partnership agreement with the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) to facilitate greater integration between FinTech hubs across the MENA region as well as Asia, while promoting AFIN’s API Exchange (APIX) platform to the FinTech community, further contributing to the development of the industry. Furthermore, Fintech Galaxy is set to launch its new and enhanced platform in July this year to cater to the evolving and increasingly sophisticated ecosystem.

APIX, the flagship product of AFIN, is a global cloud-based platform that enables financial institutions and FinTech firms to discover one another on a curated global marketplace, design experiments collaboratively in the sandbox and deploy innovative solutions rapidly at a lower cost.

“We are delighted to partner with AFIN, who share our passion to improve financial inclusion through FinTech innovation. The FinTech industry continues to grow exponentially in the MENA region, however, at a time when financial institutions are increasingly focusing towards implementing digital transformations/digitization strategies to drive business growth despite the current outbreak of Covid-19, the case for supporting FinTechs has never been greater. Consequently, this collaboration will help to alleviate some of the bigger issues the market is facing in the current pandemic. With the global economy nearing a standstill, we hope to play our part by continuing to help fintech startups find the capital and support they need to create timely solutions through innovative measures, as FinTechs are increasingly seen as the obvious choice at this time.” said Mirna Sleiman, Founder & CEO, Fintech Galaxy.

Mirna added, “Through our partnership with AFIN, we are confident of fostering an environment that empowers the sustainable long-term growth of the FinTech ecosystem while enabling greater integration between two of the most prolific regional economies in the world. We are also very excited about the potential this partnership can unlock for FinTech hubs and financial institutions in the MENA and Asian markets in terms of giving open access to each other’s talent, market exposure, solutions, best practices, funds, expertise and knowledge. We cannot wait to make this first of its kind cross-border use case come to life.”

Through this partnership, Fintech Galaxy and AFIN will mutually work on a number of initiatives supporting the development of financial innovations on both platforms. Together, both parties will strive for greater collaboration, including sharing market expertise, knowledge and insights with each other on matters relating to the fintech industry, both parties’ events and initiatives, and finally supporting each other in interfacing with respective regulators and other bodies.

Manish Diwaan, Managing Director, AFIN, said “With FinTechs currently accelerating the digital transformation of the financial sector in the MENA region, it is fitting to facilitate greater collaboration between the different hubs across the world. We at AFIN aim to connect financial institutions that need digital transformation with FinTechs that have built innovative solutions through the APIX platform. And so, the synergies between us and Fintech Galaxy are strong and the network created and knowledge shared through our partnership will cement both, MENA’s and Asia’s reputation as world leaders in fintech.”

AFIN is a not-for-profit organisation founded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, with the aim of supporting financial innovation, development and enhancing economic integration within the ASEAN region, through broader adoption of financial technology innovations on the APIX platform.

Fintech Galaxy works as an open innovation marketplace for organizations to post their innovation challenges, inviting a global network of startups to try and solve their business needs. The company advises startups on fundraising, operational growth and business development. The platform also brings to the market a virtual marketplace of on-demand fintech experts in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobile payments, robotics, cryptocurrencies, regtech, insuretech and data science.