ADGM and Plug and Play to step up start-ups in the MENA region

The Plug and Play ADGM programme set to launch in Q3 2018 aims to speed up the growth of FinTech start-ups and innovators.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market or ADGM is collaborating with the world’s innovation platform – Plug and Play. They have got together to launch ‘Plug and Play ADGM’ office. The good news is that they have announced the launch date for their FinTech innovation programme starting with Abu Dhabi, the wider Middle East and North Africa, MENA, region.

The Plug and Play ADGM programme is planned to go-live in quarter 3 of 2018 and its primary focus is on stepping up and encouraging the FinTech start-up companies and other innovators, who offer out-of-the-box solutions that take care of the ever-dynamic requirements of the region’s capital markets. The Plug and Play ADGM has its headquarters on the Al Maryah Island.

This will provide a tactical platform connecting the business partners of Plug and Play ADGM to the most appropriate and revolutionary solutions by FinTech start-up companies under the programme. The platform promises the benefits of ADGM’s internationally-aligned FinTech infrastructure and initiatives, for example, the ADGM Regulatory Laboratory, the ADGM FinTech Innovation Centre and ADGM’s network of local and global institutions, FinTech bridges and other industry partners.

The Plug and Play ADGM team’s primary aim is to develop and facilitate FinTech companies and innovators so that they could be ready for the market and function ably and efficiently as per the regulations and framework applicable in Abu Dhabi and this region. This also ensures that company formation in Abu Dhabi becomes easy.

Richard Teng, who is the CEO of Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM said that AGDM and Plug and Play had common goals, such as finding out the requirements and then resolving the difficulties of the financial services sector in the region along with developing and encouraging the finest entrepreneurs, among others.

Omeed Mehrinfar, who is the Managing Partner at Plug and Play in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said, “Through ADGM being a leading International Financial Centre, with resources such as their RegLab and Innovation Centre in place, we can augment our offerings towards local and international entrepreneurs that are looking to scale their FinTech solutions across the MENA region. The ADGM partnership is also an opportunity for both of our entities to evaluate expanding into other industries and fields as it pertains to the region’s innovation agenda. This mutual roadmap, as well as their team culture and ours were an automatic match.”