Plug and Play, the world’s largest and most successful global innovation platform, and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, are pleased to establish the ‘Plug and Play ADGM’ office and announce the go-live date for its signature FinTech innovation programme for Abu Dhabi and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The Plug and Play ADGM programme will be available in 3Q2018 and focuses on rapidly accelerating FinTech innovators and start-ups who have exciting solutions and initiatives that address the dynamic needs of the capital markets in this region. The Plug and Play ADGM office is established at ADGM on Al Maryah Island.

This unique initiative will serve as a strategic platform that connects the Plug and Play ADGM corporate partners to the most directly relevant and innovative solutions by FinTech startups under its programme. The platform will enjoy the advantages of ADGM’s internationally-aligned FinTech infrastructure and initiatives, for example, the ADGM FinTech Innovation Centre, the ADGM Regulatory Laboratory, and ADGM’s network of local and global institutions, FinTech bridges and industry partners.

The Plug and Play ADGM team will focus on developing and enabling FinTech start-ups to be market-ready and able to efficiently operate within a regulatory framework in Abu Dhabi and regionally.

“We’ve been evaluating the Middle-East for a while, and elhemdAllah we found that ideal strategic alliance with Abu Dhabi Global Market. Through them being a leading International Financial Center, with resources such as their RegLab and Innovation Center in place, we can augment our offerings towards local and international entrepreneurs that are looking to scale their FinTech solutions across the MENA region. The ADGM partnership is also an opportunity for both of our entities to evaluate expanding into other industries and fields as it pertains to the region’s innovation agenda. This mutual roadmap, as well as their team culture and ours were an automatic match!” Said Omeed Mehrinfar, Managing Partner, Plug and Play EMEA.

Richard Teng, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, said:“ Plug and Play ADGM is one of the achievements of the partnership that began in October 2017 at the successful ADGM FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit. It is a natural match and strategic alignment between Plug and Play and ADGM. We share a common ambition in identifying the pipeline of needs and solving the challenges of the financial service in this region, developing the best entrepreneurs, and seeing that the right solutions are fully deployed to the financial institutions. We are confident that the market, the FinTechs and financial institutions in Abu Dhabi and this region will reap direct benefits by being part of this new programme.”

Plug and Play ADGM gears up to welcome financial institutions and corporate entities for its official launch May 3rd in Abu Dhabi. Corporate members will be able to gain from the Plug and Play’s network and leverage their industry expertise and track-record of accelerating more than 6,000 startups.