10 winners of FinTech Abu Dhabi Awards 2019
Priya Wadhwa
10x Industry
Published:

10 winners of FinTech Abu Dhabi Awards 2019

Celebrating the ones who are implementing ground-breaking solutions.

FinTech Abu Dhabi Award ceremony this year showcased the very best talent in the sector across 10 categories. The awards were presented to those with the boldest ideas and initiatives that are driving the industry.

Judged by an international panel of global FinTech luminaries, and supported by corporates, following are the winners of FinTech Abu Dhabi Awards 2019:

UAE FINTECH FOUNDER: Ian Dillon, Co-founder of NOW Money

With a bold idea to cater to the unbanked segment of society, Ian Dillion recently graduated from ADGM’s RegLabs. In addition to providing banking service to construction workers and others who find it challenging to open a bank account, NOW Money’s core offering is to provide an easy and cost-effective way for them to transfer money back home — the reason why many of them leave their countries in the first place.

MENA FINTECH OF THE YEAR: Invoice Bazaar

A supply chain finance platform, Invoice Bazaar helps small and medium sized businesses in Dubai, Middle East, India and Singapore get access to working capital. Founded in 2016 by Anand Nagaraj.

FINTECH INVESTORS: Shorooq VC Partners

Leading seed-stage venture capital firm, Shorooq partners are the investors behind TruKKer, Clara, Pure Harvest, Sarwa, Teacherly and other successful startups.

EMERGING FINTECH TALENT: Hardik Bhatia, Founder of SolarGridX Ltd.

An exchange platform on which people can buy and sell virtually owned physical solar panels, SolarGridX is powered by blockchain tokenization. Hardik Bhatia is also the co-founder of DoFChain, an automated budget proposal system for the Department of Finance, Abu Dhabi

FINTECH LEADER: Ambareen Musa Founder, Founder of Souqalmal

Ambareen Musa won two awards this year — FinTech Leader and FinTech Woman of the year. She was the only one to do so. Her insurance tech startup is one the leading insurance platforms in the country.

EMERGING MARKETS FINTECH: Mayasoft Ltd

Founded by Nodir Badriddinov in Uzbekistan, Mayasoft was one of the winners of FinTech Abu Dhabi’s international tour. The startup’s mobile PoS terminal facilitates payments through credit cards.

FINTECH ACCELERATOR: Startupbootcamp Fintech Cairo

Startupbootcamp has two accelerators in the Middle East, one in Dubai and the other in Cairo. The award went to the Cairo branch. The award was sponsored by Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

FINTECH CORPORATE INNOVATION PROGRAMME: Bahrain Fintech Bay

One of the leading FinTech hubs in the MENA region, Bahrain FinTech Bay has been strengthening its position with sandboxes, investments and partnerships outside the island country. The award was sponsored by Etihad Airways.

FINTECH WOMAN OF THE YEAR: Ambareen Musa Founder, Souqalmal

Ambareen Musa won the second award of the evening, highlighting her achievements as a woman in Fintech. While there are far fewer women in the sector, especially in the MENA region, they are breaking the glass ceiling of possibilities.

ISLAMIC FINTECH OF THE YEAR: Wahed Invest

Wahed Invest is a UK-based startup, with entities in Mauritius, US, Malaysia, Bahrain and Kazakhstan, as per its website. They offer Halal portfolios for investments of customers. Earlier this year, Sarwa, a Dubai-based startup also launched their Socially Responsible Portfolio that offers Halal investment options.