The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), the region’s premier training and development provider, has recently participated in a panel discussion titled “FinTech in Bahrain”, which was held as part of GITEX Dubai 2022, the largest technology exhibition in the world.
The BIBF was represented by its Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Ahmed Naeemi, who was joined by senior officials from both the public and private sectors in Bahrain. The panel highlighted the Kingdom’s achievements in financial technology and the ongoing efforts to promote it as a regional FinTech hub. The panel also highlighted the BIBF’s efforts to develop qualified local cadres in the FinTech field through academic and training programmes in partnership with international academic and professional institutions. It also reviewed how all these efforts have contributed to enhancing the overall FinTech industry in the Kingdom.
During the panel, Mr. Naeemi focused on the impact educational institutions have had on digital transformation and financial technology, noting that the past few years witnessed a major technological revolution that has disrupted the banking and finance sector. He stressed on the Institute’s proactive approaches towards responding to these changes, through providing the sector with skilled human capital in this field.
Mr. Ahmed also mentioned that digital transformation is not a luxury but a necessity for organisations to thrive in this digitally evolving and competitive business market. Furthermore, he highlighted that the BIBF provides a set of training programmes to keep up with the dynamic nature of the business world, such as the Diploma in Digital Transformation, and programmes in Fintech, and Blockchain.
Regarding the cooperation between educational institutions and businesses to identify the appropriate skills and talents required in the FinTech industry, Mr. Naeemi explained that the BIBF’s ultimate role is represented in increasing public awareness of digital transformation and financial technology. Therefore, the Institute has performed several research studies to determine the skills gap of the Kingdom’s banking and finance industry, and in response developed a variety of specific initiatives in collaboration with several key partners, including Tamkeen.
He also added that the BIBF has formed strategic partnerships with leading academic and training institutions globally to keep up with technological changes in the banking and financial sector worldwide. In addition to bringing top-notch programmes to upskill and reskill working professionals in the relevant sectors in Bahrain and beyond.
Mr. Naeemi concluded his participation by reviewing the BIBF’s most significant partnerships and programmes with local and international institutions, such as the SANS Institute, to provide specialised training programmes in the field of cybersecurity, and General Assembly, the world’s leading technology training academy, to train Bahrainis in coding and other emerging technologies. He also mentioned the financial training programmes for small and medium enterprises, delivered in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in the Kingdom, and the region’s first master’s degree in Strategic FinTech that the BIBF launched earlier in 2019 in partnership with Strathclyde Business School.
