UAE’s ADGM and Finastra team up for ‘Hack to the Future 4’

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has partnered with financial software company Finastra for its global fintech hackathon ‘Hack to the Future 4’. The hackathon, which kicked off on March 8 and will run until April 10, is designed to spur collaborative action in certain fintech segments.

This year’s edition focuses on three key themes: environmental, social and governance; embedded finance; and decentralised finance.

ADGM is supporting participants in building their solutions by providing access to the Digital Lab, a digital environment administered by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) for the development of fintech products. Participants can leverage resources such as synthetic data, APIs, system images and reference architectures to support their prototype.

Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director – Authorisation of the FSRA at ADGM, said: “Hack to the Future 4 is shining a spotlight on the youth, individuals, and firms looking to redefine the future of finance to be inclusive and sustainable. As an international financial centre in a vibrant jurisdiction, this aligns with our strategic goal of nurturing innovation through progressive initiatives.

“The Digital Lab allows startups, financial institutions, academia, and government entities to test and validate innovative solutions through its secure virtual environment – solving key innovation challenges including lengthy due diligence processes and access to financial sandbox infrastructure.”

Wai Lum Kwok added: “We are pleased to share the technical resources of our Digital Lab to provide participants with the necessary tools in developing their ideas, and ensuring they maximise the benefits of this important hackathon. We welcome all initiatives, such as Finastra’s Hack To The Future 4, that support the future of finance.”

Chirine BenZaied, head of innovation at Finastra said, “With our hackathon we want to ignite a world of financial sustainability, inclusion, and autonomy. We’re calling for fintechs, banks, students and more to come forward with innovative ideas. The event is open to all. We believe everyone has a role to play in redefining the future of finance.”