Bahrain has launched into the implementation section of a brand new Nationwide Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Initiative, a landmark undertaking that may create a digital ledger for all financed commerce transactions and bill submissions within the Kingdom. The initiative, led by Bahrain’s nationwide digital infrastructure supplier BENEFIT and Singapore-based expertise firm MonetaGo, goals to de-risk SME lending and strengthen commerce finance.
The undertaking, carried out in collaboration with Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) and the Bahrain Affiliation of Banks (BAB), marks the Kingdom’s first large-scale DPI deployment and a significant milestone in its digital transformation journey, aligning with the objectives of Financial Imaginative and prescient 2030.
The collaboration unites Bahrain’s superior fintech ecosystem with Singapore’s globally recognised digital belief frameworks, setting the stage for an interoperable, cross-border digital public infrastructure connecting the Center East and Asia.
Unlocking SME finance and de-risking commerce
A major driver of the initiative is to unravel one of many greatest challenges within the area: the SME financing hole. The brand new DPI will create another knowledge credit score rating, offering banks with better confidence and a clearer urge for food to supply commerce finance to a broader vary of companies.
“This initiative demonstrates Bahrain’s means to translate nationwide imaginative and prescient into motion,” mentioned Bader Sater, chief government officer of Bahrain FinTech Bay. “By means of our collaboration with BENEFIT and MonetaGo, we’re unlocking entry to finance for the 92% of companies which might be SMEs; a bunch the place solely 11% at present have entry to funding.”
By making a safe, clear digital ledger for commerce transactions, the system is designed to considerably decrease the danger of fraud, which in flip offers banks with the boldness wanted to extend liquidity within the commerce finance market.
Abdulwahed Al Janahi, chief government of BENEFIT, commented: “As Bahrain’s nationwide digital infrastructure supplier, BENEFIT is proud to guide the implementation of this nationwide initiative. By constructing globally main expertise that de-risks finance and will increase liquidity, we’re enabling a extra clear and resilient monetary ecosystem, and positioning Bahrain as a regional chief in digital public infrastructure and innovation.”
A digital commerce bridge to Asia
The initiative is not only a nationwide undertaking; it’s a pioneering “digital commerce bridge” that goals to attach digital public infrastructure throughout areas. It builds on the success of Singapore’s personal Commerce Finance Registry, which was developed by the Affiliation of Banks in Singapore (ABS) utilizing MonetaGo’s Safe Financing expertise. Deployed in March 2023, the Singaporean registry has already onboarded over 50 banks.
MonetaGo’s expertise will now be a cornerstone of Bahrain’s DPI, establishing a trusted, interoperable framework that connects the 2 monetary hubs.
Neil Shonhard, chief government officer of MonetaGo, added: “MonetaGo’s collaboration with BENEFIT now strikes from imaginative and prescient to execution, marking a defining second in Bahrain’s journey to construct its Nationwide Digital Public Infrastructure. This section represents greater than technological progress; it’s about establishing a trusted, interoperable framework that connects digital public infrastructure between Bahrain and Singapore, strengthening monetary integrity and advancing safe, inclusive commerce throughout areas.”
This cross-border collaboration is likely one of the first main regional deployments of DPI, paving the best way for deeper digital integration between Asia and the Center East and reinforcing the Kingdom’s place as a hub for digital innovation.
