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Press Release.

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) will hold the finale of its Digital Banking Challenge in partnership with Bahrain Fintech Bay on November 22nd 2021. The event will take place at Dubai Expo 2020, during which the Challenge’s winners will be selected and announced from the group of shortlisted finalists.

The Bank launched the challenge to help develop and enhance the Bahraini youth’s skillset and equip them with the necessary knowledge for their future career paths. Focusing on NBB’s new digital banking app, the challenge enabled local university students to formulate creative solutions that could be used on the app.

Earlier this month, 8 short-listed teams were selected for a 6-week mentorship track, giving them the opportunity to attend numerous workshops and one-on-one sessions led by mentors from both NBB and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The 8 teams took part in insightful discussions with their mentors, leading them to identify key innovative solutions designed to further develop NBB’s digital banking app.

The finalist teams will pitch their solutions on demo day at Expo 2020 in Dubai in front of a panel of judges consisting of senior management teams from NBB and Bahrain Fintech Bay.  The three winning teams, coming in at 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, will be selected based on the best proposed solution for the app. Winners will receive internships at the bank as well as incredible cash prizes and three months of incubation support from Bahrain FinTech Bay.

Commenting on the event, Mohamed Alqassimi, Business Marketing and Partnerships Assistant Manager at NBB, said: “As the leading national bank within the Kingdom, it has long been part of our role to support Bahrain’s youth.

Over the years, we have introduced numerous initiatives to promote our youth’s ingenuity, and through the development of multiple programmes such as the NBB Digital Banking Challenge, we aim to harness local talent, building a platform that showcases their skills and abilities, and provide targeted opportunities for them to capitalise on the wealth of knowledge available within the sector. Working hand in hand with Bahrain Fintech Bay, we are proud to present the talented winners at the Dubai Expo 2020, showcasing the true drivers behind our Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”

Suzy Al Zeerah, Chief Partnerships Officer at Bahrain FinTech Bay, stated, “We are thrilled that the participating teams of the NBB Digital Banking Challenge will be showcasing their innovative solutions at Expo 2020 Dubai. We are very proud of the programme which aligns our mandate to upskilling the Bahraini youth with NBB’s three-year sustainability roadmap to educate, implement and move towards a more sustainable future.”

NBB continues to launch youth-led programmes and enact key partnerships to cement the importance of providing this generation with the chance to become future leaders and innovators. The Bank aims to create a strong workforce that will catapult the Kingdom’s standing onto regional and global arenas.