Investors poured US$30.4 billion into fintechs globally in the first nine months of 2020, according to the Qatar Fintech Report 2021 released today by the Qatar Financial Centre and Refinitiv. 

Although with the MENA region accounted for less than 1% of global investments in 2019, the figures suggest the region is becoming increasingly attractive for investors. 

The report highlights the exponential growth of the Global FinTech investments from just under US$ 1 billion in 2008 to an estimated US$34.5 billion by the end of 2019.

Despite jarring global economic uncertainty and financial market volatility brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, fintech investment levels globally remained relatively stable during the first nine months of 2020. The largest investments were in payments, securing a quarter of VC funding, followed by digital banking and capital market solutions. Qatar’s current strategic FinTech interests are closely aligned to these outlined areas.

Within the MENA region, 70% of fintech investment went to the UAE in 2019 (the most recent year with data over 12 months) followed by Bahrain. Qatar is also accelerating the development of its FinTech ecosystem and is making significant strides in this regard. 
The global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic came as a wakeup call for traditional financial institutions (FIs) in MENA markets and spurred growth opportunities in Qatar and elsewhere. The pandemic accelerated the implementation of digitalization strategies in Qatar’s financial marketplace.