The Simmons & Simmons team in the Middle East has brought together a local multi-practice team for the initiative comprising experienced finance, technology and regulatory lawyers.

The firm continues to be pioneering within the international FinTech space, having been the first law firm to launch a dedicated FinTech Fund in May 2016 providing cost effective legal services to some of the most exciting FinTech businesses.

Recently, the firm launched a flagship research campaign: Hyperfinance, which demonstrated strong investment appetite among banks and asset managers, with 31% expecting to acquire a FinTech firm in the next 12 to 18 months as a way to improve their digital innovation. Click here for more information | Download the full report here.

Raja Al Mazrouei, Acting Executive Vice President of FinTech Hive at DIFC commented, “As the only FinTech accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, FinTech Hive at DIFC is playing an important role in connecting technology companies from around the world with key regional financial institutions. We are committed to providing our programme participants with the holistic support they need to thrive. This is why we are pleased to have leading law firms such as Simmons & Simmons on board, helping our start-ups to understand the region’s legal landscape and the DIFC’s regulatory framework.”

Angus McLean, head of the firm’s FinTech practice is also the only industry expert from the legal sector to be a part of The Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator Community, an initiative that brings together key organisations as part of the regional FinTech eco-system to share insights on trends and supports the collaborative development of the sector.‎

Angus commented: “We are delighted to play an integral role in this first-of-its-kind accelerator in the MEASA region and are excited about the collaborative opportunities this presents to us, our clients and to those within the wider FinTech ecosystem”.

Financial markets partner, Muneer Khan, based in Dubai, added: “This is a significant step forward for the FinTech community here in the Middle East and I’m pleased to be a part of this in my role at Simmons & Simmons. Specifically, I will be supporting in the area of Islamic finance, which is ripe for innovation and disruption. In fact we are already advising on Islamic finance FinTech plays which have the potential to reach a large and increasingly tech savvy global audience”.

Raza Rizvi, partner lead on a variety of Middle East FinTech projects will provide mentorship to selected participants of the programme. Raza commented: “Financial institutions in the region have a long way to go in their digital innovation and data science journeys. The DIFC (through initiatives like FinTech Hive) and the DFSA (through initiatives like the Innovation Testing Licence) have shown that they will be trusted strategic partners for developers of responsible, innovative solutions.”