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Interest and investment in fintech is growing significantly in many regions of the world, including the UAE. The expanding scope, combined with the growing maturity of a number of fintech subsectors and surging corporate interest, is expected to keep investment higher. 

Fintech funding in the UAE is expected to reach $2.8 billion by 2028, thanks to a strong economy and a favorable environment. 

Singapore-based UnaFinancial predicts that funding will grow from $1.8 billion in 2023 to $2.8 billion in 2028.

UnaFinancial’s analysis of Tracxn data also predicts that the number of fintech startups in the UAE will triple during the same period, from 200 in 2023 to 531 in 2028.

The company says that the boost in fintech funding is due to the UAE’s large selection of multidisciplinary free zones, which make it easy to start a business, and its special visa categories for investors and startup owners.

The UAE has become the largest fintech hub for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

In 2022, fintech companies in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) raised over $615 million in funding, driven by Dubai’s supportive ecosystem for fintech companies, including a fast-growing economy, a large talent pool, and a favorable regulatory environment.

At this year’s Dubai’s Fintech Summit, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), talked about how fintech has become a major growth driver for DIFC.

“With Dubai providing one of the world’s best ecosystems to foster the growth of Fintech innovation, it has become one of the leading hubs for driving value creation in the sector,” said Sheikh Maktoum.

Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC, also spoke of the financial center’s major impact on the country’s economy and a significant contributor to its GDP.

“It has been growing fivefold faster than the average Dubai GDP growth over the last ten years, contributing around 6% to its GDP,” Kazim said.

Middle East fintech startups raised $2 billion in funding through 140-160 deals between 2021 and 2023, with the UAE accounting for 43% of all fintech funding in the region over the past three years, according to a research report by red_mad_robot.