Qatar Launches Fintech Trade Finance Platform at QFC

Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business centre in the region, has recently welcomed aboard NEBIX LLC, a fintech digital trade finance marketplace headquartered in Doha. NEBIX joins QFC’s comprehensive suite of fintech companies, which will help advance Qatar’s position as a rising regional trade finance hub. 

Qatar’s geographical position provides an efficient gateway to become a major Trade Finance platform for multinational corporations, local companies, major financial institutions and new emerging Islamic Non-Bank Financial Institutions, that serve the New Emerging Belt Initiative NEBI trade corridor. (The NEBI trade corridor stretches from the Caucasus region, through the neighboring Gulf countries all the way to Central Asia, encompassing markets which have a combined GDP of approximately $2.1 trillion.)

Connecting corporates, funders, and insurers, NEBIX is a digital marketplace powered by the Fineon Exchange Fintech platform, which validates trade finance requirements, enhances their credit worthiness, and matches clients with appropriate funders and credit insurers, helping businesses to increase sales, optimise working capital and minimise risks, while acting as a quality origination tool for funders. 

Mr. Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Chief Financial Sector Officer, QFC, said: “Given the growing Trade opportunities in the Middle East and Central Asia we see great value in a Trade Finance Platform based in the Qatar Financial Centre, to facilitate the matching of international Financial Institutions with exporters and importers. Ultimately we believe this will unlock Trade Finance as a very attractive Asset Class for investors and facilitate Trade Finance across the Middle East and Central Asia”

QFC’s strategy aims to develop a stronger regional ecosystem in Trade Finance, by attracting more financial institutions and credit insurance companies to the QFC, and generating more Trade Finance opportunities for Qatari banks and other financial institutions with a presence in Qatar.

Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, Vice President, Financial Sector Office, QFC, said: “We welcome NEBIX to the platform as yet another important addition to our growing list of fintech companies. Together, we will continue to work towards ensuring that Qatar becomes a thriving hub of financial technology.” 

Fadi Saab, Chairman, NEBIX, said: “NEBIX was established at QFC to overcome specific Trade Finance obstacles facing corporates and financial institutions in Qatar and in the wider neighbouring markets. Our collaboration with Fineon Exchange provides valuable support in pursuit of making Qatar the leading Fintech and Trade Finance hub in the region”.

“Our aim is to facilitate collaboration between all stakeholders by leveraging our state-of-the-art technology and artificial intelligence capabilities. Implementing Fineon Exchange’s efficient and non-disruptive model with tried and tested processes will enable NEBIX to become the go-to Trade Finance partner and solution provider for the region’s corporates, funders, and other ecosystem partners”, he added.