During an official trip to France, a Bahraini business delegation visited “Le Swave”, the French FinTech Incubator, which has offices, showrooms and joint workplaces designed to accommodate emerging businesses in the fast-growing world of financial technology. The visit comes on the side-lines of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s visit to France that included official talks and the signing of high-level economic agreements worth $2 billion.

Led by HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the business delegation to Le Swave included representatives from the CBB and Bahrain FinTech Bay. A joint cooperation agreement was also signed to increase support for and foster the growth of global FinTech.

The visit comes as part of the Kingdom’s economic diversification plan to expand the non-oil sector through the development of the financial sector, particularly FinTech. It also aims to promote the adoption of international best practices in this field. The incubator, which covers about 2,500 square meters, has been developed in the wake of the French government’s announced intentions to develop and expand the FinTech sector.

The incubator provides technical and material support to emerging FinTech businesses, offering them easy access to relevant entities to assist in their business development while also allowing them to test their services and apply new models to their clients in the financial sector.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the leading FinTech hubs in the Middle East and Africa, becoming a focal point for innovation in the GCC and the region. This has encouraged the growth of a supportive and pioneering environment in Bahrain aimed at attracting ideas and companies engaged in innovation. Recent laws in Bahrain were issued to encourage innovation, allowing Bahrain to become the preferred destination for next-generation technology companies.