Visa, the world’s largest payment company, has announced the opening of applications for its 2023 start-up booster programme in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This programme offers start-ups the chance to pitch their solutions to address payment and commerce challenges. The Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) is a global initiative that provides start-ups with the opportunity to tackle real-world industry challenges using their ideas and solutions, with the winner receiving a $20,000 prize.
In the Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa (Cemea) region, Visa and Emirates NBD will select a Fintech to address fraud management, cyber security, credit risk, and other challenges. The winner of this event will receive a $25,000 prize and an opportunity to work with Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey region. Visa will be accepting applications until May 14, and in addition to the top prize, $10,000 will be awarded to the “audience favourites”. The winner of the Cemea event will represent the region in the finals held during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on September 19.
VEI is a “platform that empowers Fintechs and entrepreneurs to showcase the most groundbreaking, impactful solutions in the world of payments and commerce,” said Salima Gutieva, Vice President, and Country Manager for the UAE at Visa. Gutieva added that “Through their technology-driven, innovative solutions, Fintechs have the potential to offer broad social benefits to the markets they operate in—particularly when it comes to providing financial services to those who have traditionally been underserved.”
The global start-up network of VEI consists of nearly 12,000 start-ups from over 100 countries, which have raised over $16 billion in funding since its establishment in 2015. In the 2022 edition, more than 4,000 start-ups participated across five regions, with VEI awarding more than $530,000 in prize money.
Start-ups are booming globally as they take on the challenges of developing solutions for a world that is becoming increasingly digital in key sectors such as retail, services, and commerce. They are also increasingly seeking funding from global investors to accelerate their development. The current value created by start-ups worldwide is about $3 trillion, almost on par with the gross domestic product of a G7 economy, according to advisory company Startup Genome.
Regionally, start-ups across the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey raised $7.2 billion through 1,473 deals last year, despite macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Magnitt’s previous report. Funding for Mena start-ups crossed the $3 billion mark last year, an annual increase of 8.3 per cent, with Fintech leading both funding and a number of deals in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey region.
The increasing use of mobile platforms to gain access to financial services is also growing in the UAE, with more than half of all residents now using digital wallets, as online payments increased after the pandemic. The trend is more popular among the younger generation, payments solutions provider Checkout.com said in a previous report. “We believe access to the digital economy drives equitable, inclusive growth,” Ms Gutieva said, emphasizing the importance of “supporting the innovators playing a leading role in this space.”
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