Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) has set a new strategic direction that expands its role beyond connecting Bahrain’s fintech market to developing products and solutions with partners. The first partnerships and agreements under the new direction were signed on Day 1 of Fintech Forward 2026. Fintech Forward 2026 is hosted by Bahrain EDB, programmed by Forbes Middle East, and supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Labor Fund “Tamkeen”, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, and Bahrain FinTech Bay.
A key addition to BFB’s offering is the development of AI products and services for financial institutions, delivered in partnership with technology providers. These products will sit alongside BFB’s AI training, which ranges from strategy courses for senior leaders to practical, day-to-day uses of AI for teams. BFB will also expand access to technology and digital infrastructure, including Google Cloud infrastructure, helping companies build, test, and scale solutions from Bahrain.
BFB’s AI products, services, and training will remain focused on financial institutions. Alongside this, BFB’s subsidiary, Innovate for Bahrain (I4BH), will expand its role to develop AI products and services for companies outside financial services, so every company has a clear route to AI support depending on its sector. I4BH is an innovation platform that runs AI-first innovation programs and startup accelerators, and works in partnership with government, corporations, and academia.
Bader Sater, CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay, said: “Bahrain has spent years building a strong fintech ecosystem, and our next step is to make that ecosystem work even harder for companies and financial institutions. Through this new direction, BFB will help fintech companies set up and grow from Bahrain, and help our banks adopt AI with the right partners. The agreements we signed at Fintech Forward 2026 are where that starts.”
The new direction keeps BFB’s two mandates as an ecosystem builder: to help fintech companies establish in Bahrain, expand across the GCC, and scale to MENA, and to support the financial services sector with its digital transformation. BFB will continue to build Bahrain’s fintech ecosystem and to support international fintech companies through its close work with the regulator, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), and its strategic partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
The partnerships and agreements announced at Fintech Forward 2026 give the first view of how BFB’s expanded products, services, and partnerships translate into opportunities for fintech companies, financial institutions, and technology providers.
