From Krishnan Nayar NEW DELHI, 26th August, 2020 (WAM) – The impact of current economic changes on the investment ecosystem in FinTech and HealthTech in India and in Dubai was extensively discussed at a webinar organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry today.

Sameer Nawani, Chief Representative of the Dubai Chamber’s International Office in Mumbai, explained that digitisation and growth in technology are bringing about big changes in financial services and healthcare systems.

He said UAE accounted for 60 per cent of funding for startups in the Middle East and in the North Africa region in the first half of 2020 while India was among the top three startup centres despite a decline in funding for start ups in India in the same period.

Salman Jaffrey, Chief Business Development Officer of the Dubai International Financial Centre, DIFC, explained the role of the Centre and gave an account of its contribution to Dubai’s economic growth.

He said DIFC is a top ten global financial centre, and the leading financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with a 15-year track record of facilitating trade and investment flows across the region.

The consensus at the webinar was that new technology enables startups to be agile in designing cutting edge solutions for changing needs in FinTech and HealthTech sectors. Panelists agreed that funding enables the growth of these startups as well as the pace at which technology advances.

Hamzeh Kolaghassi, Founder of Maia Exchange, a global private exchange based at DIFC which enables companies to raise smart capital from institutional and accredited angel investors, narrated his ten years-plus experiences in consulting and venture capital.

Other panelists were Anuj Golecha, co-founder of Venture Catalysts, one of India’s top ten angel investors and Ashwin Raguraman, co-founder of Bharat Innovation Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in globally competitive, early-stage deep-tech startups.