Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) has announced a $100m venture capital focusing on financial technology (fintech) start-ups that will set up in the newly unveiled Bahrain Fintech Bay.

According to Khaled Saad, Bahrain Fintech Bay CEO, the fund will complement Bahrain’s broad initiative to build a complete fintech ecosystem.

MEED understands the fund, which has been pooled from various government agencies, will be utilised for series A, B or C funding depending on the requirement of the start-ups.

Located in the same building as EDB, Bahrain’s lead government agency in generating foreign investments into the country, the Bahrain Fintech Bay will be operated by Singapore-headquartered Fintech Consortium.

“What we are launching today is not just a physical space that is designed to optimise collaboration between our partners, the regulator, and the fintech start-ups,” Saad said at the opening of the Bahrain Fintech Bay. “We are announcing an ecosystem that began in 2017 when the Central Bank of Bahrain introduced a fintech regulatory sandbox as well as a crowdfunding law.”

The regulatory sandbox provides an environment for fintech start-ups in Bahrain to test their products and services prior to production and full-scale rollout.

The Bahrain Fintech Bay announced 28 founding partners that include international and local finance firms as American Express, BNP Paribas, Ahli United Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, Gulf International Bank  and Al-Baraka, among others, as well as technology firm Microsoft and consultancy firm Roland Berger.

According to Gerben Visor, co-founder of Fintech Consortium, each of the 28 founding members has made a two-year commitment to provide financial support for the Fintech Bay operations as well as provide technical input  for the development of innovative solutions that will cater to the financial industry.

“It is essentially an initiative that aims to build the foundation for the future new financial centre in the region, if not in the world,” Visor tells MEED.

At least three start-ups have begun operating at Bahrain Fintech Bay as of 21 February. They include US-based investment management platform RobustWealth, digital real-estate solutions provider Offrbox and credit risk provider Sigma Ratings as well as Jordanian startup Labiba.