Global Financial Community Optimistic to Overcome Market Challenges and Build Stronger, Tech-Driven, Sustainable Future Economy
18.3.2023 12:23:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
The second edition of the Financial Sector Conference (FSC 2023) has concluded in Riyadh, with a mood of optimism and energy to overcome market challenges to build a stronger, technology driven and sustainable economy of the future.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230317005086/en/
Courtney Powell, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, 500 Global (Photo: AETOSWire)
Over 3200 participants from 82 countries, and 180 media, assembled in the Saudi capital to discuss the way ahead for the global financial community under the conference theme of “Promising Financial Prospects.”
Representatives from some of the biggest global financial institutions joined Government Finance Ministers met to identify the most effective road map for future growth and prosperity for the sector – enabling greater use of technology, diversification, cross border cooperation and embracing the green economy.
The conference also saw multiple MOUs and agreements signed to support real estate development; FinTech development and digital financing solutions worth billions of dollars and the National Bank of Iraq announced the start of operations in Saudi Arabia.
Concluding the conference, Saudi Central Bank Governor HE Ayman Mohammed Alsayari highlighted the Kingdom's efforts to provide an attractive environment for FinTech companies in line with the goals of Vision 2030 goals, and the vital role they play to support the growth of the private sector, to diversify the economy, and to stimulate saving, financing and investment.
Debating the important role of Venture Capital, Courtney Powell, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, 500 Global, said: “Since we made our first investment in the Middle East in 2012, we have seen incredible growth and we have 14 companies today valued at over $100 million. The willingness of the government to support entrepreneurs combined with the opening up of the Kingdom shows it has the potential of becoming a leading global hub for entrepreneurship.”
In discussion about the future of global money flows, HE Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italian Minister of Economy and Finance stated: “In the financial sector, fragmentation induced by geopolitical tension will have strong implications by affecting global and financial stability, the cross-border allocation of capital, international payment systems, and asset prices.”
Financing for the SME sector was a key debating point on the final day of the conference with the enormous growth of the sector both in the Middle East and internationally. Tala Al Jabri, Board Member, Middle East VC Association (MEVCA) identified a major financing gap for the sector. He said: “95% of enterprises in the region are SMEs and the loan profile that goes to them is only 7% – which is the lowest in the world, indicating a massive gap.”
The FinTech sector in Saudi Arabia meanwhile is flourishing as Ziad Alyousef, Deputy Governor for Development and Technology, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) explained: “In 2018, there were less than 10 companies operating in the FinTech community. Now, there are over 155 companies operating in the space in Saudi Arabia and this has led to increased investments and job creation."
*Source: AETOSWire
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230317005086/en/
Contact information
Nawied Jabarkhyl
njabarkhyl@apcoworldwide.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Industry Leaders Formally Launch SCMP OCP Workstream for Open, Secure AI Infrastructure Management and Control13.10.2026 20:15:00 EEST | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable and platform firmware leader, and AMI, a Lattice company, today announced SCMP (Secure Control and Management Plane), a new Open Compute Project workstream. Announced during a joint keynote at the 2026 OCP Global Summit, SCMP is an open, vendor-neutral architecture for secure control, boot, and management of data center infrastructure. It gives data center operators more confidence that complex AI systems will work as expected across vendors and platforms, with less integration risk and more freedom of choice. SCMP defines how a control authority establishes and maintains trust from silicon root of trust through rack and pod, building on existing OCP initiatives and industry standards. “As AI infrastructure scales toward autonomous operation, the management and control plane becomes the foundation of trust. That foundation should be open and verifiable, and SCMP gives the industry a common architecture to achieve it, from
Saudi Fund for Development Announces Progress on Pristina–Mitrovica Highway Project in Kosovo13.10.2026 16:36:00 EEST | Press release
The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) today joined the Government of Kosovo to inaugurate the Pristina–Mitrovica Highway, marking SFD’s first completed project in Kosovo and an important milestone in the partnership between both sides. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261013433726/en/ SFD CEO and Kosovar's minsters sideline meeting (Photo: AETOSWire) His Excellency Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Fund for Development, inaugurated the upgraded highway section by cutting the ribbon at the newly completed road. He subsequently held a sideline meetings with His Excellency Hekuran Murati, Minister of Finance, His Excellency Dimal Basha Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, and His Excellency Arben Vitia, Minister of Health, to discuss the development projects and the continued SFD- Kosovo partnership. The project upgrades a 9.87 km section of the Prishtina–Mitrovica Highway
KAST Selects Kiln’s Claire Wells as Chief Legal Officer13.10.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
KAST, the global money app, announced today that Claire Wells has joined the company as Chief Legal Officer. Wells will lead KAST’s global legal operations, and the company’s compliance, regulatory, fundraising and licensing initiatives are under her remit. Wells is a proven legal and compliance leader with deep experience building and scaling legal, regulatory and policy functions across fintech, payments and digital assets. She has navigated complex, multi-jurisdictional environments, all while delivering growth. “I’m thrilled that Claire has joined the KAST team as our new Chief Legal Officer,” said KAST Founder & CEO Raagulan Pathy. “Claire is joining us at a truly pivotal time for the company as we enter our next phase of growth. We are continuing to expand our product set rapidly, and her strategic leadership will be instrumental in scaling our operations into a truly global powerhouse.” This is a significant hire for KAST. To meet fast-growing global demand, the company now has
Ohana Development Announces Erling Haaland as a Proud Homeowner at Manchester City Yas Residences by Ohana, During Phase 2 Launch13.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Ohana Development has announced Erling Haaland as a proud homeowner at Manchester City Yas Residences by Ohana during the launch of the project’s second phase. Featuring two- and three-bedroom townhouses, duplex villas, and four- and five-bedroom villas, Phase 2 sales will commence on 19 October 2026. The event at Etihad Arena welcomed over 4,000 guests, including Pep Guardiola, who was announced as the project’s official brand ambassador. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261013790618/en/ Manchester City Yas Residences by Ohana Launches Phase 2 (Photo: AETOSWire) Located along Yas Canal, adjacent to Yas Island, the development spans 1.67 million square metres and will feature more than 2,000 residences. The world’s first Manchester City-branded residential community has already broken ground, with phased delivery scheduled by 2029. In a video appearance by Manchester City star Erling Haaland, he announced that
Tigo Energy Enables over 11MW of Repowering as Legacy Solar Service Market Grows13.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Tigo Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYGO) (“Tigo” or “Company”), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy software solutions, today announced that Tigo technology has helped enable over 11MW of solar repowering projects as demand grows for upgrades, replacement components, and services across the installed base of aging residential solar systems. To help installers capture this opportunity, Tigo is also introducing a practical repowering playbook and installer resources designed to support both business development and the technical execution of legacy-system upgrades through repowering. The Tigo Repowering Business Playbook gives installers a step-by-step framework for building a repowering business across four stages: Discover, Build, Sell, and Grow. The guide addresses how to evaluate the market opportunity, create repeatable service offerings, identify and qualify customers, package services around homeowner needs, launch a repowering program, and develop ongoing service and upgra
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom