Emirates NBD launches global accelerator for metaverse startups, powered by DIFC Fintech Hive and Microsoft 

Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, has launched a global accelerator programme for metaverse start-ups to enhance customer experience for the new virtual economy, in partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive, the largest financial technology hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and powered by technology provider Microsoft.

Marking Emirates NBD’s first play in the metaverse, the accelerator programme positions the bank as a leader in the next phase of banking innovation in alignment with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy aimed at placing Dubai in the top ten metaverse economies of the world, supporting more than 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and adding USD4 billion to Dubai’s economy in five years.

With 94% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside the branches, the bank is exploring new technologies in the web 3.0 world to expand its digital footprint and create immersive experiences for our customers.

About the programme and what's on offer

Emirates NBD is scouting for leading fintechs, digital experience startups and emerging technology players operating across the metaverse landscape to enhance its immersion in the virtual world across three key areas: building the technology stack to facilitate the shift to 3D, creating virtual worlds to augment the customer experience in the metaverse and enabling a decentralised payment infrastructure for customers to create, monetise, buy and sell digital assets and services.

Over a ten-week acceleration programme, the DIFC Fintech Hive will evaluate and match Emirates NBD with leading start-ups offering unique propositions on the value creation, experience and technology stack required for the metaverse. This will culminate in a demo day at GITEX where the shortlisted participants will pitch their solutions for an opportunity to co-create engaging experiences for our customers in the new reality.

Submissions close on September 2nd, 2022. You can find more information, as well as apply, here.