Fintech has become an increasingly important buzzword for governments across the Middle East in recent years — and in the six-strong Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in particular — as part of efforts to embrace innovation and diversify away from an over-reliance on oil revenues.
The development of Kuwait’s fintech sector has hitherto been more modest than that of other regional centres, such as Bahrain and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, reflecting both the country’s lower prominence as a financial centre compared with its neighbours and its unique political system, which makes the passage of new laws and regulations more challenging than elsewhere. As such, Kuwait ranks at the bottom of the region as a fintech destination.
