Bahrain could not seize the Gulf’s fintech headlines, but it surely’s more and more the market founders and banks select once they want a proof-of-concept to mature right into a product.
Economically, Bahrain is on agency footing: it grew by 2.5 per cent 12 months on 12 months in Q2 2025, with non-oil exercise now roughly 85 per cent of output and monetary providers the biggest single slice at about 17 per cent. International direct funding inventory rose 5.4 per cent to 17.5billion Bahraini dinars.
And but it’s nonetheless under-credited. As Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) put it not too long ago: “Bahrain doesn’t get the worldwide recognition it deserves,” calling the Kingdom “one of many main regulatory our bodies in the entire area, however many individuals don’t comprehend it”.
A part of Bahrain’s energy lies in how early it began constructing the best foundations. It launched the area’s first regulatory sandbox for fintech corporations in June 2017. The Central Financial institution of Bahrain (CBB) adopted with an open-banking rulebook in December 2018 that required banks to face up actual application-programming interfaces. In 2019, Rain grew to become the Center East’s first totally licensed crypto-asset platform.
It additionally seems to work as a result of the items line up: a single, agile regulator – the CBB – sits on the centre, with Bahrain Financial Growth Board (EDB) – the funding promotion company – and Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) – the nationwide hub – plugged in alongside banks and founders. Selections transfer shortly and pilots are designed with an endgame: go stay in the event that they work.
Balancing act
H.E. Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Growth and chief govt of Bahrain EDB calls it “partnered” innovation: “if you’re confronted with challenges, the perfect factor to do is to innovate… and in Bahrain it’s innovation that’s partnered.”
A single, forward-looking regulator, the EDB to crowd in funding, and Bahrain FinTech Bay to convene pilots: “we’re small, so we’re in a position to deploy actually shortly,” with coverage stability and expertise planning to match.
From the CBB facet, Governor H.E. Khalid Humaidan is apparent concerning the temporary: “Digital is the important thing to profitable monetary providers.”
The CBB’s single-regulator mannequin helps it stability its twin mandate of progress and stability, and approvals keep on with first rules – “compliance, governance, client safety and systemic threat” – as a result of “once we deal with crucial dangers, we are able to say sure to nearly the whole lot else.”
The road on integrity is simply as direct: “solely good cash and good people are in a position to transact in our jurisdiction.”
On execution, Bahrain FinTech Bay’s CEO Bader Sater sums up why founders begin right here: “ease of entry to the decision-makers and the responsiveness of the decision-makers,” plus a realistic stance the place “there isn’t any rule or regulation which can’t be modified if there may be motive.”
Show it domestically, then increase: “we already think about Bahrain as a gateway to the GCC,” with first-adopter pilot, together with with massive tech, used to maneuver new rails from trials into manufacturing.
Founder-friendly
The UK not too long ago despatched a 36-company fintech mission to check that promise in opposition to conferences with regulators, banks and buyers in Bahrain.
As Katie Ramsey, head of fintech on the UK Division for Enterprise & Commerce, defined: “Corporations that solely began participating a 12 months in the past are already signing MoUs and partnerships.
“The EDB, the CBB and Bahrain FinTech Bay… have been such enablers to draw and help UK fintechs in organising right here that we didn’t battle to draw fintechs to hitch us.”
Sam Mudie, founder and CEO at Savea, which tokenises high-value bodily belongings and joined the current commerce UK mission, known as Bahrain “very progressive and extremely supportive of innovation in digital belongings”.
He added: “It’s extremely spectacular how intently associated the central financial institution regulator, the EDB, Bahrain FinTech Bay, and all the important thing gamers are. It’s nearly as in the event that they’re the identical physique. It looks like a extremely accessible market.”
Barry O’Donohoe, co-founder and CEO at safe API entry administration firm Raidiam, echoed that.
“We’ve been actually impressed and blown away by the progressive coverage surroundings… and regulatory frameworks; the central financial institution clearly being a civil authority for setting monetary regulation helps.
He additionally highlighted the expertise pipeline, “the precedence round expertise growth”, as a pull issue for market entry.
In-market operator view
stc pay Bahrain, the Kingdom’s main digital pockets from Saudi Telecom Firm (stc), additionally units out why the market works as a proving floor.
CEO Metin Zavrak, says: “Bahrain is a strategic market with one of many area’s most superior regulatory frameworks for fintech. Being licensed by the Central Financial institution of Bahrain supplies our prospects with full confidence within the security, compliance, and reliability of our providers.
“Bahrain is a perfect check market due to its dimension, variety of inhabitants, and the agility of its regulator. The CBB has created a supportive ecosystem that enables fintechs to pilot, refine and scale options shortly.
“Having one central regulator is a big benefit because it reduces complexity and ensures constant oversight. On the similar time, we monitor different markets just like the UAE with VARA for digital belongings, which supply alternatives for innovation in specialised sectors. This mix of robust native governance and consciousness of regional frameworks positions us to increase thoughtfully and sustainably.”
Cross-border by design
Bahrain pitches itself because the Gulf testbed that scales: show a product in a small, agile market with direct regulator entry, then roll it throughout the GCC.
That path is being formalised. Jeel, Riyad Financial institution’s innovation arm, and Bahrain FinTech Bay signed an MoU linking Jeel’s Saudi sandbox with BFB’s sourcing community. “Transfer seamlessly from testing and validation into scalable, real-world deployment,” says Jeel CEO George Harrak. BFB COO Suzy Al Zeerah calls it a step to “drive startup progress, share crucial market data and foster innovation.”
There’s a Bahrain-Qatar bridge, too: BFB and the Qatar Monetary Centre Authority agreed to share market intel, give visiting startups workspace entry, co-run analysis and plug one another into occasions – decreasing points for dual-market launches.
World companions are additionally getting in on the act. Ripple has a brand new strategic partnership with BFB to help proofs-of-concept and pilots in cross-border funds, digital belongings, stablecoins and tokenisation – plus training and accelerator exercise that seeds native functionality.
Bahrain FinTech Bay has additionally partnered with MonetaGo to construct a nationwide Commerce Finance Registry – real-time checks throughout lenders to catch duplicate financing and bill fraud – aimed toward unlocking SME credit score and standing up the Kingdom’s first piece of digital public infrastructure.
Large-tech rails are in play as properly: BFB not too long ago coordinated a Google Cloud Common Ledger pilot with BENEFIT, the nationwide funds community, Nationwide Financial institution of Bahrain (NBB), Bahrain Islamic Financial institution (BisB) and Financial institution of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) that executed on the spot, tokenised BHD funds, together with high-value transactions between corporates like Alba and Bapco Energies, laying groundwork to increase to extra banks, currencies and cross-border use.
“We already think about Bahrain as a gateway to the GCC… we associate with entities to construct the bridges founders want,” says BFB’s Sater.
The mechanics
Founders additionally level to the fundamentals. Working prices are decrease than in regional hubs. International possession is easy. And Bahrain’s Tamkeen, the nationwide Labour Fund, co-funds hiring, coaching and tech adoption – the unglamorous help that helps early groups localise with out blowing the price range.
Bahrain isn’t the most important market within the Gulf, and it received’t outspend its neighbours on incentives. The bar on compliance is intentionally excessive and founders nonetheless want regional companions to scale into Saudi or the UAE.
However for groups that arrive with a regulated use-case and a financial institution or company keen to check, Bahrain affords one thing uncommon: entry, velocity and a transparent path from pilot to stay.
