2020 Middle East highlighting the digital transformation taking place across Saudi Arabia's economy.
Leaders from Saudi Arabia's central bank, as well as the country's Minister of Finance, speaking at the conference.
Money 2020 always has a global mission in mind to. startups with business leaders from across the globe.
Well joining me today is Mikki Tespey, who's the head of audience development for Money 2020.
Mikki, thank you so much for joining us.
So I do want to get your takeaways from Money 2020 Middle East.
What comes to mind?
Um, hey, Rey, thank you for having me.
Um, first of all, I just want to say probably the main thing is just the, the sheer scale of activity in the region, it's truly remarkable.
As, um, as I'm sure you've heard, we've got, you know, over 451 brands represented here.
We've got almost 1000 investors, over 10.
50 startups.
So it just shows you the the remarkable scale of growth in the region.
So really, really remarkable.
We've also had a number of announcements including Visa, who announced the launch of local infrastructure for visa acceptance platform and payment gateway in the kingdom.
Yeah, Mikki, a lot of exciting announcements coming out from Money 2020 Middle East.
So give us an idea of what audience that this conference is trying to reach.
I think really the audience here is, is global, but it's also focused on the kingdom, right?
You know, money is global, FinTech is increasingly global and it's really, as you know, your previous guest said, um, Saudi Arabia is increasingly is open to business and it's the place to invest.
And so really it's bringing together all of that ecosystem international, regional, and, and of course domestic.
Yeah, and Mickey, we know that these conferences tend to be jam packed, but what have been some of the biggest moments of the conference from Money 2020 Middle East so far?
Um, that's a really tough one to answer.
I think really the main thing for me at least is just seeing the sheer amount of investment in the region, the sheer amount of, of transformation, you know, you come to Saudi Arabia and you can, you can sense there is just a huge amount of change happening here in so far as, you know, the building of infrastructure.
The, the, the, the building of new kind of a new economy in the region and so it's really palpable, and uh when you're walking through the halls of Money 2020 when you're kind of talking to all the different exhibitors, everyone who's attending.
So I think really the fundamental thing is you could just tell how excited everyone is and how much opportunity there is here.
Yeah, and finally, Mikki, before I let you go, you mentioned a key word there and that is opportunity.
We all know that time flies when you're having fun, especially at these types of events.
But what is the key takeaway from this event and what will you be walking away with?
I think really the key takeaway is that first of all, you know, FinTech is a global phenomenon now and across everywhere in the world, fintech is becoming a really key part of the economy and in Saudi Arabia that's no different.
In fact, I was listening to a conversation a couple of days ago where they were talking about the amount of digital payment in the region.
It's gone to 79% across the last year, which is a 70% increase.
That just shows you how Much the region is changing and the kingdom is really changing.
So for anyone who's interested in and exploring opportunities to expand, to work with the region, it's really a phenomenal opportunity, as you know, we've been very lucky here at Money 2020 Middle East that we're working with the local government here, with the central bank, and so really it reflects the opportunity for a collaborative opportunity opportunity to really drive forward what's going on in the region.
OK, Mickey, well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule today to talk to me and I appreciate your insight as well as perspective.
Have a great evening.
Thank you, Amy.
