Al Tamimi & Company Gathers Business and Finance Leaders to Celebrate 5th Anniversary and Bahrain’s Booming Fintech Ecosystem

Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, gathered more than 100 clients including senior leaders in government, business and finance at the Four Seasons Bahrain Bay on the 30th of October to celebrate its 5th anniversary of operations in the Kingdom and Bahrain’s booming FinTech ecosystem.

The event consisted of a reception and thought provoking panel discussion with FinTech practitioners and related experts including: Mr. Khalid Saad, CEO, FinTech Bay, Mr. Shiraz Ali, CEO, Finzo, Mr. Gaby El Hakim, Chief Legal Officer, National Bank of Bahrain and Mr. Haroun Khwaja, Senior Associate, Technology Media & Telecommunications, Al Tamimi & Company. The session was moderated by Mr. Geoff Cooke of Oxford Business Group. Since its establishment in Bahrain in 2014, and 30 years of operating in the region also celebrated this year, Al Tamimi & Company has built a reputation for helping clients navigate and stay at the forefront of business, regulatory and legal developments that impact organisations across industry sectors. With FinTech and digital transformation more broadly now occupying an important part of corporate agendas in Bahrain, the panel discussion addressed the following themes:  “How has Bahrain positioned itself as a hub for FinTech”, “Has Bahrain reached the objectives it set out to achieve in the FinTech space” and “Horizon scanning: What does the future of FinTech look like in Bahrain and what are our predictions”.

Ms. Foutoun Hajjar, Partner, Head of Office-Bahrain at Al Tamimi & Company, said: “We’re delighted to have marked this important occasion amongst so many of our clients and leaders of Bahrain’s business community and FinTech ecosystem. In light of our role as early supporters and advisors to FinTech start-ups in Bahrain, and our mission to be the leading regional law firm for innovation and technology, we’re delighted to have marked our 5th anniversary of operations in the Kingdom by celebrating the strong partnerships we have established with a diverse group of stakeholders in Bahrain’s rapidly developing FinTech and digital ecosystem. Innovation is driving major change and positive disruption across industries and we intend to continue acting as a trusted advisor and go-to-legal firm in this space. In doing so, we have established a number of platforms to support technology focused companies of all sizes including providing start-ups with legal clinics and training so that they can continue to establish and grow in Bahrain and, in turn, support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals and ambitions in FinTech leadership.”

Essam Al Tamimi went on to add in his closing remarks: one of the most crucial aspects to enable a FinTech and technological revolution in the regions is education. All stakeholders must be prepared to learn and adapt to the changing environment guided by technological advancement. Universities and educational institutions in the region must prepare future workforce to cope with the changing practices of business. Training and education is highly prioritised at Al Tamimi & Company and we are making efforts to improve our knowledge internally as well as partner with educational institutions in training the future workforce of the region.”

Al Tamimi & Company is one of the fastest growing full service law firms in Bahrain with a comprehensive offering spanning Litigation, Corporate Commercial, Corporate Structuring, IP and Banking & Finance teams on the ground.  Building on the Firm’s strong track record established over the past thirty years, it looks to further augment growth by developing new practice groups in the Bahrain office and growing existing ones including the further expansion of its Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) practice. Other key initiatives of the Firm include the establishment of an Innovation and Efficiency Group (IEG), chaired by Ms. Hajjar. The IEG Group has been created to bring together innovation-focused lawyers and business services staff to help drive a culture of change within the Firm in line with the technological changes taking place across its clients’ organisations. The IEG Group focuses on internal innovation, external innovation and supporting the regional Governments in achieving innovation goals. In recognition of the significant strides the Firm has taken in this space, Al Tamimi & Company recently won the prestigious International Law Firms Review award for the most Innovative Law Firm in the UAE.