16, Jun 2026
Government Temporarily Restricts Telegram Access in Select Context Ahead of NEET (UG) 2026 Re-Exam
New Delhi, June 16: In view of concerns related to exam integrity and the upcoming NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, authorities have implemented a temporary restriction on certain online communication platforms, including Telegram, as a precautionary measure. The restriction will remain in place until June 22, 2026.
Officials stated that the decision has been taken to prevent the potential misuse of digital platforms for the circulation of sensitive examination-related content, including unauthorized sharing of question papers, answer keys, or related materials. The move is part of a broader effort to ensure transparency, fairness, and credibility in high-stakes national examinations.
Authorities emphasized that safeguarding the examination process is a priority, and necessary steps are being taken to maintain a secure and unbiased environment for candidates. Monitoring mechanisms have been strengthened to prevent any form of malpractice or information leakage during the examination period.
The temporary measure is expected to be lifted after the completion of the re-examination cycle, subject to review. Officials have also urged students and stakeholders to rely only on official communication channels for updates related to NEET (UG) 2026.
The government reiterated its commitment to conducting examinations in a fair and secure manner, ensuring equal opportunity for all candidates.
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- By Neel Achary
16, Jun 2026
EIZO Recognized by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader for Climate Change Response for the Fourth Consecutive Year
Hakusan, Japan – EIZO Corporation (TSE: 6737) announced that it has been recognized as a Supplier Engagement Leader, the highest rating, for the fourth consecutive year by the CDP, an international not-for-profit organization that operates a global disclosure system for managing environmental impacts.
The CDP’s annual Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA) evaluates a company’s supply chain engagement as it relates to climate issues based on responses to five key areas of the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire related to risk management processes, governance and business strategy, supplier engagement, scope 3 emissions incl verification, and targets. By engaging with their suppliers on climate change, Supplier Engagement Leaders play a crucial role in the transition to a net-zero sustainable economy.
In line with EIZO’s corporate philosophy of “Through the pursuit of imaging solutions with advanced technologies, we enrich people in their professional and personal lives,” EIZO has continued to carry out environmentally conscious product manufacturing and business activities.
EIZO is further accelerating Response to Climate Change and Supply Chain Management, EIZO’s materialities, by implementing information disclosure based on TCFD recommendations and obtaining SBT certification for its GHG (greenhouse gas) emission reduction targets, with the understanding and cooperation of our suppliers. In addition, EIZO established its “Transition to Net Zero” climate transition plan, under which EIZO aims to achieve Net Zero GHG emissions by the year 2040. EIZO will continue to contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society through these and other initiatives.
16, Jun 2026
Speedioo Raises INR 10 Crore Seed Funding Led by Atomic Capital to Expand India’s Used Two-Wheeler Market Presence
Pune, June 16 : Consumer-Tech platform Speedioo has raised INR 10 crore in a seed round led by Atomic Capital. This marks the company’s first institutional fundraise, with the capital set to be used towards building its AI-native technology stack, expanding distribution across key demand centres in India, deepening its partnerships with OEMs as a key growth driver, and scaling its dealer partner and retail network. As a part of its expansion strategy, Speedioo also plans to grow its retail footprint across cities through a scalable franchise model aimed at strengthening its supply & operational Infrastructure, along with expanding its senior leadership team.
The company plans to integrate its value chain end to end with the AI enabled platform to transform core processes including procurement, price discovery, vehicle assessment and selling price by leveraging new age AI capabilities. Speedioo aims to expand its distribution network into top 3 – 4 cities and deepen its retail footprint through a scalable franchise-led model.
Co-founded by Sagar Potphode and Ajit Deshmukh, both former senior operators at CredR and Rentomojo, Speedioo has grown more than 5X in topline over the last 12 months while staying EBITDA and cash flow positive, a rare combination in a category that has historically been built on heavy capital burn.
Commenting on the fundraise, Sagar Potphode, Co-Founder & CEO, Speedioo says,
“At Speedioo, we are building much more than a used two-wheeler company. We are building a trusted and sustainable consumer brand for the next billion Indians aspiring to own personal mobility. For a large part of India, a two-wheeler is not just a vehicle. It is access to livelihood, independence and opportunity. Yet the category continues to suffer from low trust, poor transparency and inconsistent customer experiences. Our vision is to build India’s most trusted omnichannel and technology-driven platform in this category by combining deep operational execution with innovative product and technology infrastructure. While Tier 1 markets remain important, we strongly believe the real long-term opportunity lies across Tier 2, 3 and 4 India, where accessibility and affordability matter even more. We believe sustainable businesses are built by solving real problems at scale, and this fundraise gives us the foundation to accelerate that journey responsibly.”
Speedioo has crossed Rs 30 crore in GMV and has sold over 4000 vehicles in the last year with a sharpening focus on high-end models reflecting the premiumization tailwinds among aspirational customers within the second-hand category. With strategic partnerships with leading EV brands for exclusive exchange programs, 200+ active dealers across Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune, Speedioo aims to grow this by 10X in the coming year.
Apoorv Gautam, Founder & Managing Partner, Atomic Capital says,
““We are excited about the megatrends shaping India’s used two-wheeler category. The used market is roughly 1.5X the size of the new two-wheeler market, and as Indian consumers grow more aspirational, premiumization within the second-hand category is becoming a defining theme. Despite the scale of the opportunity, there is no clear winner today, no ‘Spinny for bikes’, and the rapid electrification of two-wheelers opens up an entirely new whitespace for organised, tech-led players. We have deep respect for the way Sagar and Ajit have built Speedioo: bootstrapped, capital-efficient, with strong unit economics and overall profitability from very early on. Their DNA aligns closely with our playbook of not throwing capital at the problem, but building sustainable businesses that scale exponentially. We also have a sharp point of view on value creation in this category, across technology platform building, distribution expansion, and a deliberate focus on the most lucrative segments. We are excited to partner with the Speedioo team on this journey.”
As a part of its growth phase, Speedioo aims to cross INR 100 crore ARR while expanding its presence in new markets where demand for trusted mobility solutions continues to rise.This includes diversifying sourcing channels across interstate and intracity markets, strengthening OEM relationships, expanding dealer penetration, introducing financing and warranty products, opening additional retail stores, and entering new Tier 1, 2, 3, and 4 markets.
Speedioo’s expansion strategy is anchored on three pillars: supply, demand, and channel expansion. The Company plans to diversify its acquisition channels, aggressively go behind the rapidly emerging EV resale ecosystem, where significant whitespace opportunity exists and doubling down on dealer partner penetration in existing cities, where current penetration remains limited.
As part of its channel expansion, Speedioo plans to open new retail stores across existing markets and enter 2 – 3 new cities in this financial year. The Company will also invest in building large-scale customer experience and fulfilment capabilities, which will be backed by technology-led operational infrastructure.
India’s used two-wheeler market is estimated at approximately Dollar 28 billion in size and is roughly 1.5X the volume of the new two-wheeler market. Despite this scale, the category remains over 95% unorganised, with no clear consumer brand winner. Recent exits and consolidation among well-funded predecessors have left a wide-open lane for a capital-efficient, operator-led player to define the category.
16, Jun 2026
Pathfinder International Launches Women&Co and Advances Inclusive ESG Transformation in Egypt
Cairo, Egypt, 16 June: Pathfinder International officially launched Women&Co, a new innovation platform designed to advance women’s economic empowerment, employment, and inclusive opportunities while devising solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges in Egypt. The launch event brought together key stakeholders and featured the participation of Ms. Dina El Serafy, Assistant Minister of Social Solidarity for International Cooperation; Dr. Sahar El Sonbaty, President of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM); Ms. May Mahmoud, General Director of the Women Business Development Center at the National Council for Women (NCW); Ambassador Nabila Makram, Head of the Technical Secretariat of the National Alliance for Civil Development; and Dr. Mohamed Abou Nar, Chief Programs & Impact Officer at Pathfinder International.
The event also brought together representatives from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), CARE International, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), Banque Misr and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt.
The launch event marked the announcement of the first service to be offered under the platform: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) advisory and capacity-strengthening services for the private sector. The services will support companies in improving ESG performance, strengthening workplace inclusion, and advancing climate-responsive policies and practices. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping businesses strengthen the social dimension of ESG through gender-equitable workplaces, inclusive leadership pipelines, employee wellbeing, and female workforce retention. By translating these practices into measurable ESG indicators, companies can enhance their sustainability performance, strengthen their readiness for sustainable and green finance, and improve long-term business resilience and competitiveness.
The launch brought together senior representatives from government, the private sector, financial institutions, development agencies, and international organizations to explore how gender equity, climate action, and sustainable finance can drive more resilient and inclusive economic growth in Egypt.
A key feature of the event was its co-creation approach. Through workshops and consultations, private-sector partners, civil society organizations, and women from local communities worked directly with Pathfinder to help shape future of inclusive ESG service offerings, ensuring that solutions are practical, business-driven, and tailored to the specific needs of women and companies operating in Egypt.
Commenting on the launch, Dr. Mohamed Abou Nar, Chief Programs & Impact Officer at Pathfinder International, welcomed the strong participation of representatives from government entities, the private sector, financial institutions, development agencies, and international organizations. He emphasized that the launch of Women&Co marks a strategic step toward advancing inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Egypt.
“The launch of Women&Co is more than the introduction of a new platform; it reflects a tangible commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment and strengthening their active role in development, in line with Egypt Vision 2030, which places women at the heart of the country’s sustainable development agenda,” said Abou Nar.
He added: “We firmly believe that empowering women and creating equal opportunities in employment and entrepreneurship not only improves the lives of women and their families, but also represents a direct investment in building a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable economy. Through Women&Co, we aim to develop practical and sustainable solutions that support women, businesses, and local communities while generating measurable social and economic impact. The platform adopts a collaborative approach that brings together the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, and development partners to design services and initiatives that address real market needs and contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth pathways in Egypt.”
Pathfinder International highlighted the importance of positioning women’s economic inclusion as a driver of sustainable business performance, ESG readiness, and long-term competitiveness. Discussions throughout the day explored topics including gender inclusion in the workplace, carbon emissions reduction, the implications of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for Egyptian businesses, and pathways to expanding access to green and inclusive finance.
16, Jun 2026
AI is changing what is possible in the $10 trillion food industry. Anterra Capital is backing what comes next
Specialist food and agriculture investor announces $100 million first close of Fund III as the sector enters the most attractive deployment moment in twelve years.
AMSTERDAM and BOSTON – June 16; Food and agriculture has been through a noisy capital cycle. A lot of money chased capital-intensive stories that attempted to rebuild the food system from scratch. Anterra Capital’s view is simpler and more practical. The food system is too large and too entrenched to be replaced, but it can be transformed from within, particularly by companies operating at deep leverage points that can scale on existing industry infrastructure, on economics that make sense from day one.
The close
Fund III’s first close, at $100 million against a target of $200 million, marks an important milestone for Anterra. The firm was built on the conviction that the tools that had already transformed other industries — life science tools that reshaped human health, and software that rewired sectors from logistics to financial services — would eventually transition to, and transform, food and agriculture.
“The firm has now successfully navigated two capital cycles in food and agriculture,” said Maarten Goossens, Partner at Anterra Capital. “Each one rewarded the same discipline: backing companies that deliver real returns for their customers and to their investors. What’s different this time is that the real-world industries we operate in — large, complex and historically resistant to change — are now ready to be rewired, and the tools to do it have arrived.”
Why Fund III, why now
Food and agriculture remains the largest industry on the planet, roughly $10 trillion in size, employing around 1.3 billion people, nearly 40% of the world’s workforce. It is also where a set of structural forces is converging — margin volatility, food security, climate and water constraints, tightening regulation, and health outcomes increasingly tied to what the system produces — each one a reason the old way of operating no longer holds.
Those same forces drew a wave of capital chasing the change they promised. Global investment in food and agriculture technology surged to a historical peak of nearly $52 billion in 2021 before falling back to roughly $16 billion — 2016 levels. Much of that generalist capital backed ambitious, capital-intensive bets that failed to scale: indoor vertical farms, plant-based processed meat alternatives and 10-minute grocery delivery. Anterra took a different approach — backing science-backed companies built on real unit economics and designed to scale through existing industry channels. That retreat of capital from hype back to fundamentals is precisely what now opens the door for disciplined specialists.
And now there is AI — the defining technology shift of our era, and its impact runs deepest in the industries the last generation of software never reached: those which still run on manual workflows, fragmented data and analogue infrastructure. None is larger than food and agriculture. Two engines are now firing at once: vertical AI, the fastest-growing category in enterprise technology with investment tripling in a single year, is finally digitizing how these industries operate; in biology, AI is compressing R&D timelines, shrinking teams and slashing the capital needed to reach a first commercial milestone — unlocking a generation of opportunities that were previously out of reach for venture capital. The capital cycle has cleared the noise. And Anterra has spent twelve years building the knowledge and relationships to deploy into both.
Track record
Anterra’s investment thesis has been consistent across two funds — and with valuations reset and AI now changing the economics of building in both software and biology, the moment has finally arrived to deploy it at scale.
Anterra’s first two funds have produced top tier returns and multiple exits, including one of the largest exits ever in early-stage veterinary medicine, a Nasdaq IPO, and several other acquisitions by industry leading strategics across the value chain.
Company-building is a core part of how Anterra operates, deployed where the firm identifies white space the market has not filled. Its first company creation, Enko Chem, is discovering & developing next-generation crop protection chemistry through rational design to replace old, ineffective and unsafe products such as glyphosate, and partnering with key industry leaders, including Syngenta and Bayer Crop Science. Invetx, founded in 2018 and built by the firm from the ground up, applied proven biological approaches from human medicine to veterinary medicine and was acquired by Dechra Pharmaceuticals for over half a billion dollars within 6 years of inception.
Investor base
Anterra’s investor base spans institutional investors, food system operators and industry innovators across North America, Europe and APAC. It includes the world’s largest food and agriculture bank, one of the largest life sciences investors globally, a leading Asian sovereign wealth fund, and the world’s largest animal health company — institutions that understand both the scale of the opportunity and what it takes to capture it. Alongside them sit operators who between them farm more than 13 million acres and include leaders of some of the world’s largest CPG, bakery, produce logistics and food retail businesses.
“The vote of confidence from our investor base is what gives this close its weight,” said Adam Anders, Partner at Anterra Capital. “The combination of leading global asset managers, the institutions that know our sector backwards and the operators who farm millions of acres all backing the same thesis is an unrivalled force supporting the Anterra portfolio”.
What’s next
Fund III has already backed Anchr, an AI-native platform modernizing the back office of food distribution — a trillion-dollar industry still running largely on paper — alongside a16z Speedrun. The fund’s second investment is Animerra, a veterinary biologics company founded and built by Anterra, applying proven biological approaches to our sector and advancing its science with a lean team at a pace that would not have been possible five years ago.
“We’ve spent twelve years and two funds proving you can build category-defining companies in food and agriculture — and generate real returns doing it,” said Brett Wong, Partner at Anterra Capital. “What’s changed is that the world has finally caught up to that thesis. The technology is here, the valuations make sense, and the founders building in this sector are the best we’ve ever seen. This is the most exciting moment in our firm’s history, and Fund III is how we intend to make the most of it.”
16, Jun 2026
Mana & Skanda Expand The Right Life with The Solitaire, a Premium Residential Development in East Bengaluru
Bengaluru, June 16: East Bengaluru’s Whitefield–Sarjapur Road corridor continues to witness steady growth in the premium residential segment, driven by expanding IT infrastructure, stronger social connectivity, and rising demand for larger homes within integrated communities. In line with this momentum, Mana & Skanda have launched The Solitaire, envisioned as a premium residential address that combines scale, privacy, panoramic views, and integrated township living.
Commenting on the launch, D Kishore Reddy, CMD, Mana Projects, said: “East Bengaluru continues to see strong residential demand, supported by infrastructure growth and proximity to major employment hubs. Homebuyers today are increasingly looking for larger residences within integrated communities that offer convenience, green spaces, and long-term lifestyle value. With The Solitaire at The Right Life, we aim to respond to this shift by creating homes that bring together scale, connectivity, and a more balanced way of living.”
16, Jun 2026
Sarvam raises $234 million in first close of $300 million Series B at $1.5 billion valuation
BENGALURU, India, June 16: Sarvam, India’s full-stack sovereign AI company, announced that it has raised $234 million in the first close of its $300 million Series B at a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion. HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners invested in the round, with continued support from existing investors Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners.
Sarvam builds across the AI stack: training and inference infrastructure, frontier model research, and a go-to-market motion spanning enterprises, developers, and government. The investment will fund Sarvam’s continued research on training its next frontier model for agentic, coding, and cybersecurity use-cases, as well as access to compute at scale to expand its forward-deployed motion across key verticals.
“We are clear that research-led innovation to create AI that works at India’s scale is a very large opportunity. That means models that understand our voices, read our documents, and serve intelligence at a cost every enterprise and government can afford. Building on this template, we are innovating on a full-stack offering for enterprises to own and operate their own sovereign AI,” said Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder of Sarvam.
HCLTech will invest $150M as the lead strategic investor in this round. By combining its deep enterprise transformation expertise, trusted global client relationships, data and other software IP, and engineering depth, HCLTech would accelerate Sarvam’s goal of building a powerful, end-to-end sovereign AI ecosystem for India and beyond.
C Vijayakumar, CEO & Managing Director of HCLTech said, “Our investment in Sarvam marks a significant step toward building India’s trusted and globally competitive AI ecosystem. By bringing together Sarvam’s research in AI models with HCLTech’s global presence, we are creating a differentiated full-stack AI platform for enterprises and governments, strengthening our ability to deliver secure, scalable, and responsible AI solutions.”
Sarvam’s research has shipped at pace. In the last few months, it has released foundational models, all trained from scratch in India. Sarvam 105B matches or outperforms larger reasoning models on knowledge, reasoning, and agentic benchmarks, while Sarvam 30B is optimised for the edge, running on consumer hardware. Sarvam Vision, built for handwriting and Indian-language records, is being used to digitise over 35 million pages from insurance forms to legacy land records. Sarvam’s speech models work in India’s complex settings, transcribing over half a million hours of audio each month.
Sarvam’s products are rapidly scaling, focused on the verticals where the stakes are highest: banking, insurance, gov tech, and defence. Sarvam’s conversational platform now handles over 2 million interactions a day, with usage doubling in the last two months. Sarvam’s agentic platform is scaling rapidly. A leading fintech powers its 350,000-strong sales force with a sales enablement platform that is delivering demonstrable gains. Sarvam’s models are also being adopted by developers served on its inference platform in India which processes 10 million API calls daily, with usage tripling in the last three months.
Sarvam’s deployments are also creating impact at population scale. With multilingual voice agents, Sarvam’s platform collected high-quality data from 17 million farmers providing deep insights to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare. For one of India’s leading insurance providers, a nationwide voice campaign supported low cost policy renewals for 45 million policyholders.
“Our ambition is to diffuse this technology widely in India, creating significant value across sectors for citizens, small businesses, enterprises, and state and central governments. We are positioned to both help them adopt and innovate on AI. The partnership with HCLTech provides a unique example of an Indian corporate helping build foundational strength in AI,” said Vivek Raghavan, Co-Founder of Sarvam.
“Sarvam is building and deploying India’s sovereign AI platform – serving 1.4 billion citizens, mission-critical sectors, and large enterprises. Pratyush and Vivek have brought together the rare combination of research depth, engineering talent, and institutional trust to meet India’s voice and agentic needs, and we are proud to partner with them,” said Pankaj Mitra, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners.
16, Jun 2026
Doctors at Manipal Hospital Kharadi Save 1.5-Month-Old Infant After Emergency Removal of Open Hairpin
Pune, June 16: Doctors at Manipal Hospital Kharadi successfully removed an open hairpin from the digestive tract of a 1.5–month–old baby boy through an emergency endoscopic procedure, preventing a potentially serious complication.
The infant was brought to the hospital nearly two hours after accidentally ingesting a hairpin while at home. An immediate X-ray of the abdomen revealed that the hairpin had reached the distal stomach or proximal small intestine. The case was considered a medical emergency as the hairpin was open, increasing the risk of perforation of the stomach or small intestine.
The hairpin was successfully retrieved using specialized tooth forceps without causing any injury to the digestive tract.
Speaking about the case, Dr Aditya Borawake, Consultant – Gastroenterologist, Manipal Hospital Kharadi, Pune, said, “Considering the critical nature of the case, we decided to perform an emergency endoscopy. During the procedure, the foreign body could not be located up to the second part of the duodenum (D2), which is the usual extent of a routine gastroscopy. We carefully advanced further into the small intestine and eventually located the open hairpin deep in the fourth part of the duodenum (D4).”
Further he added, “Foreign body ingestion in infants can become a medical emergency, especially when the object is sharp or pointed. In this case, the hairpin was open, which significantly increased the risk of intestinal perforation. The procedure was particularly challenging because the foreign body had migrated deep into the duodenum, beyond the usual reach of routine endoscopy. Timely intervention helped us remove the object safely before any complications could occur.”
Following the procedure, the baby remained stable and was started on oral feeds after four hours. He tolerated the feeds well and was discharged the following day in good condition.
Dr Amit Mane, Director, Manipal Hospitals, Pune, said, “This case highlights the importance of seeking immediate medical attention when a child accidentally ingests a foreign object. The successful removal of an open hairpin from such a young infant reflects the expertise of our clinical team and our readiness to handle complex emergencies with advanced minimally invasive procedures. At Manipal Hospitals, we remain committed to delivering timely and specialized care to patients of all age groups.”
The baby recovered well without any complications and continues to do well on follow-up.
15, Jun 2026
Listing: This Father’s Day, Treat Dad to a Winning Day Out at Amoeba Sports Bar
This Father’s Day, celebrate the man who’s always been your biggest cheerleader with an experience that’s packed with fun, food, and unforgettable moments at Amoeba Sports Bar, Church Street. From exciting bowling sessions and arcade games to live sports screenings and indulgent comfort food, Amoeba offers the perfect setting for fathers and families to bond over shared experiences and a little healthy competition. The newly reimagined sports bar combines gaming, dining, and entertainment under one roof, making it one of Bengaluru’s most exciting social destinations.
Whether it’s challenging dad to a game of bowling, reliving childhood memories over arcade games, or raising a toast while catching the latest sporting action on the big screens, Amoeba Sports Bar promises a Father’s Day celebration beyond the usual brunches and dinners. With its lively atmosphere, crowd-favourite bar bites, pizzas, burgers, wings, and interactive entertainment, families can spend quality time together while creating memories that last long after the day is over.
Date: 21st June, 2026 (Sunday)Time – 11:00AM – 12:00AM Where: Amoeba Sports Bar, Church Street, BengaluruHighlights: Bowling, Arcade Games, Live Sports Screening, Food & Drinks, Family-Friendly EntertainmentOffer: Recharge Arcade Card Above ₹3,000 & Get:
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₹1,000 Extra Credit
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5 Free Video Games
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Special Gifts
Price : 1200/- for 2 pax at sportsbar
15, Jun 2026
MFTA, SFTA Forge Global Fintech Alliance in Presence of Swiss Ambassador
The MENA Fintech Association and Swiss Fintech Association Forge Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Global Fintech Integration, Cross-Border Innovation, and Ecosystem Empowerment
15th June 2026 – Abu Dhabi, UAE – The MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) and the Swiss Fintech Association (SFTA) today announced a landmark strategic partnership designed to advance a new era of cross-border collaboration, ecosystem integration, and innovation-led financial transformation across global markets.
This alliance reflects a shared conviction that the future of financial services will be defined by interconnected ecosystems, seamless knowledge exchange, and the collective empowerment of institutions, innovators, and talent across geographies.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was formally signed with the Swiss Fintech Association, represented by its President, Phillip Weights, marking a significant milestone in strengthening institutional ties between the two ecosystems. The engagement was held under the presence and facilitation of H.E. Arthur Mattli, Ambassador – Embassy of Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates & Kingdom of Bahrain, whose support underscored the strategic importance of deepening bilateral cooperation in financial innovation and reinforcing cross-border ecosystem linkages.
At the heart of this partnership lies a bold commitment to cross-border collaboration, enabling structured engagement between fintech ecosystems in the MENA region and Switzerland. Both associations aim to eliminate silos that limit innovation, fostering a unified platform for dialogue between startups, regulators, investors, financial institutions, and technology leaders.
A central objective of the partnership is to develop cross-border frameworks, understand the global outlook and landscape, and further the future of finance across both ecosystems and beyond. Empowerment of the next generation of fintech talent, with a strong emphasis on nurturing emerging founders, developers, and innovators, is also a vital pillar of this partnership. Through joint programs and curated ecosystem access, MFTA and SFTA will work to cultivate a globally competitive pipeline of fintech leadership capable of shaping the future of financial infrastructure.
The collaboration will further prioritize knowledge sharing and intellectual capital exchange, establishing formal mechanisms for sharing insights on regulatory frameworks, emerging technologies, market dynamics, and best practices. This will include thought leadership forums, research collaborations, and high-level roundtables aimed at elevating industry-wide understanding and accelerating informed innovation. Both organizations will also engage in co-development of ecosystem-building initiatives, designed to unlock scalable impact across both regions. These initiatives will support fintech startups in accessing new markets, facilitate investor connectivity across borders, and enable institutional partnerships that drive real-world adoption of financial technologies.
In addition, the partnership underscores a strategic global outlook, positioning both associations as key enablers of international fintech alignment. By bridging two of the world’s most dynamic financial ecosystems, the collaboration is expected to create new pathways for capital flow, regulatory dialogue, and innovation diffusion at a global scale.
The alliance is further anchored in a long-term strategic vision focused on building resilient, inclusive, and future-ready financial ecosystems. This includes fostering regulatory innovation, supporting digital transformation agendas, and reinforcing trust-based frameworks that enable sustainable fintech growth.
Leadership from both MFTA and SFTA emphasized that this partnership is not symbolic, but foundational, representing a decisive step toward shaping a more interconnected, collaborative, and innovation-driven global financial landscape.
Philip J. Weights, SFTA President comments that: “This strategic MOU between the Swiss FinTech Association (SFTA) in Zurich and the MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) in Dubai creates a powerful cross-border corridor for wealth, innovation, and digital finance. It establishes a bridge between two of the world’s most prominent financial technology hubs.”
“This alliance is a defining step toward deepening cross-border collaboration and co-creating the future of financial innovation between our two ecosystems. It reflects a shared ambition to enable sustainable growth and global connectivity in fintech.” — Nameer Khan, Chairman, MENA Fintech Association
Together, the MENA Fintech Association and the Swiss Fintech Association are setting a new global benchmark for ecosystem partnership, one defined by cross-border synergy, talent empowerment, and the shared ambition to co-create the future of finance.
