Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), a regional leader in banking, finance education and training, in association with leading UAE banks and insurance companies, has launched the EIBFS Fintech Training Lab.
According to Al Bawaba the lab will boost Fintech investment and research in the region, and seeks to improve training and skills in digital technologies which are set to revolutionise financial industries, such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud, Application Program Interface and Digital Governance.
The EIBFS recently hosted the first Fintech Training Lab meeting which included experts from the banking, technology and insurance sectors. The agenda aimed to understand the potential future needs of these industries encompassing development of talent, rapidly evolving technologies and operational business functions such as, credit, compliance, Islamic banking, and so on.
Jamal Al Jasmi, General Manager of EIBFS, said “The global banking and financial industry is undergoing massive transformation, given the disruptive changes arising from the financial technology domain. The skill sets required for finance professionals is changing as we speak. While the priority in the past was to develop functional skill sets in the various domains of banking, the new trend is to ensure the application of technology to functional skills, referred to as the techno-functional skills.”
Dubai is fast becoming one of the world’s leading Fintech regions with innovations introduced by its government as early as 1999. This was in a bid to increase internet penetration rates which were less than 5% at that time.
According to Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the initiative has continued to grow since then and Dubai now boasts hundreds of smart services and initiatives from various partners and government entities.
Experts in the Fintech sector have suggested that Dubai is one of the top ten Fintech hubs in the world, giving London, New York and Singapore a run for their money. Fintech start-ups in the region have raised over USD 100 million in funding over the last decade, with this figure predicted to double by 2020.
Fintech training programs are now available throughout the UAE, and Dubai in particular, in a bid to empower the workforce of the future and ensure a secure setting for banking and finance in Dubai.
