EDB, Indian state in deal for FinTech development

The Economic Development Board (EDB) yesterday announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra state Government, India, to provide a framework for co-operation to promote FinTech in their respective markets. This MoU is in line with the EDB’s aims of exploring greater synergies between India and Bahrain in the financial technology space and will last for an initial period of three years.

Dr Simon Galpin, Managing Director, Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and S. V. R. Srinivas, IAS, Principal Secretary, Directorate of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra signed the deal Under the aegis of this MoU, Maharashtra and the EDB will support each other in promoting the FinTech environment education programmes, delegation visits and through the facilitation of cooperation between relevant parties.

‘’With this collaboration we stand at the frontier of a new future. We are going to work together to unlock a new generation of talent, creativity and innovation and be prepared for a future in which technology will be a game changer,” said SVR Srinivas. This collaboration will identify new areas of growth within the financial services sector and explore innovative projects in areas such as digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers, big data, flexible platforms (APIs), AML, eKYC, amongst other new technologies.

Dr Simon Galpin, Managing Director of the Bahrain EDB, said the agreement will stand as a model for model for forging wider and deeper business ties between the two countries saying, “Bahrain stands ready to learn from its close trading partner, whilst also sharing its own knowledge.” The collaborative approach between Bahrain’s government and private sector has been instrumental in the advancement of FinTech growth and activities. With Financial Services now accounting for 17 per cent of total GDP, Bahrain is committed to enabling innovators across the FinTech ecosystem.