22 markets, 22 rulebooks. Any institution building liquidity across MENA runs into that fragmentation. It is the region’s biggest constraint and also its biggest opportunity.
Nameer Khan, Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association, joins FinTech TV’s Lucy Gazmararian at the Arab Federation of Capital Markets Annual Conference, hosted by ADX at the Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi.
On the mood in the room: the audience is no longer debating whether the region will work. It is already building, and the conversation has moved to infrastructure.
On the conference theme of reshaping capital markets, he names AI and tokenisation as the two verticals that will matter most for how capital is traded, invested and moved. No industry escapes disruption, and capital markets are no different.
On liquidity and connectivity, he names fragmentation plainly. An institution expanding into the region is not entering one country but 22, each with its own rulebook, and liquidity has to be built for each one separately. That makes the problem more complex and the solution more meaningful.
On climate, he points to six regional regulators that now require climate disclosure, and expects demand from financial institutions to follow.
On MFTA’s partnership with the Swiss Fintech Association, he explains why cross-border collaboration matters. It builds understanding of each market in both directions, helps identify the right players, and lets regulators share best practice. MFTA draws on a network of around 52 countries built over eight years from Abu Dhabi.
His closing line: when there is policy clarity, capital flows.
Guest: Nameer Khan, Chairman, MENA Fintech Association
Interviewer: Lucy Gazmararian, FinTech TV
Recorded at the Arab Federation of Capital Markets Annual Conference 2026, Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi
