We are here at the Arab Federation of Capital Markets conference at the Grand Hyatt in Abu Dhabi. Joining me is Nameer Khan, Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association. Nameer, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thanks for having me. It is great to be here in a buzzing room.
The event has just kicked off. Is there anything standing out to you from a conversation perspective?
What stood out to me today — I was really happy to see a room full of people. Not those who are thinking that this region would work. I see a room full of people who understand that the region is already working and building. What I see is infrastructure. What I see is things happening.
The theme of the conference is reshaping capital markets. Are AI and tokenisation the hot topics?
It is inevitable. We have to adapt, and no industry is going to be left undisrupted. Capital markets is no different. Capital needs to move. Capital needs to change the way we do business today, the way we will be trading and investing — it is all going to be reshaped. AI and tokenisation are two verticals that will play an extremely critical role in the entire future of finance.
There is a big focus on liquidity and connectivity between up-and-coming capital markets. Can you talk about that?
When we talk about liquidity in the region, liquidity is still a challenge. What we see today is fragmentation. When you have a player looking to operate or expand into the region, you are not looking at one country — you are looking at 22 markets, each with their own rulebook. When you have to build liquidity, you have to build it for all of these separately. That is the challenge. But it is also the opportunity — you are building for something more meaningful and solving a more complex problem.
Tell us about Fils and how it fits into today's broader discussion.
What we do is climate intelligence infrastructure — working with banks, financial institutions, large enterprises, and governments. We are the infrastructure that enables everything related to climate. We are already working with some of the largest tier-one banks. We have taken care of climate intelligence worth billions of dollars without any loud announcements. We are very bullish because of the regulations coming into play — six regulators in the region have come up with their own mandates and have mandated climate to be disclosed. Financial institutions are not going to be away from this. So when you have regulations mandating that, demand is certainly going to pick up.
On the MFTA partnership with the Swiss Fintech Association — what do these partnerships mean in practice?
The MENA Fintech Association has been operating for eight years, launched here in the UAE in Abu Dhabi. We now work closely with around 52 countries. Our intention and approach has always been to make this region the gateway to a whole new market — where we actually conduct sessions for these countries to understand this market while being there, and similarly for players here who would like to expand into European or other markets. It is a two-way thing. This accelerates understanding. And when you accelerate understanding of a market, you can filter who the right players are. Number two — we always believe in sharing the best regulatory practices. When you have policy clarity, capital flows.
An amazing way to end. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you for having me. All the best for the day.
