NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

By Sarah Willis, Heather Matranga

Recently, a collection of social enterprise and entrepreneurship experts convened at Amity University in Dubai for the second annual National Treasure Conference, a gathering focused on the role that socially responsible for-profit ventures should play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015. One conversation that was surely on the minds of many of the participants: will the Middle East’s fintech boom increase -or decrease- economic inequality?

History tells us that any new technology can lead to one of two diametrically-opposed social outcomes: the technology can help balance the distribution of global wealth, or it can deepen economic and social inequality. The financial technology (fintech) revolution in the Middle East has led to just such an inflection point, but to what end? Will the new crop of fintech companies increase or decrease the staggering levels of inequality in the region?

Photo courtesy of Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion.