In an attempt to sustain its position as a financial hub in the Gulf Corporation Council, GCC, Bahrain has announced the launch of ALGO Bahrain, a consortium including Al Baraka Banking Group, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Bahrain and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB). With the aim of boosting Sharia-compliant fin-tech solutions, ALGO Bahrain aims to launch 15 fin-tech platforms by 2022.
As it is the first Sharia-compliant fin-tech solutions consortium, more banks are expected to join the consortium in Phase 2. “ALGO Bahrain is a strategic initiative to position Islamic banks for the forthcoming paradigm shift in the banking industry as a consequence of recent financial technology innovations. Inaction is not an option,” said Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the president and chief executive of Al Baraka Banking Group.
With complete strategic, operational, and financial independence the consortium will create financial solutions suitable for the digital economic ecosystem.
Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) launched a regulatory sandbox for fin-tech start-ups with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Singapore’s Fin-tech Consortium announcing the launch of Bahrain Fin-tech Bay (BFB), the largest dedicated fin-tech hub in the Middle East and Africa.
