BisB names judging panel for ‘BisB Innovation Challenge’

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has announced the selection of its judging committee for the ‘BisB Innovation Challenge’ a Fintech Competition.

The event is part of the bank’s partnership with the CBB Digital Lab “FinHub 973”, the Kingdom’s latest open application programming interface (API) innovation platform which will enable the testing and development of fintech solutions to deliver superior customer-centric digital capabilities.

The judging panel, which will convene on 18th January 2021, will have Osama Nasr, Chief Information Officer of BisB, Yasmeen Al Sharaf, Head of Fintech and Innovation Unit at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and Wesam Baqer, Chief Corporate & Institutional Banking of BisB.

This follows the footsteps of the bank’s virtual event #AskMeAnything, hosted by the Bank in early December.

The event was held to answer potential questions for the FinTech Competition. The competition is challenging Fintechs applicants to brainstorm big ideas in the realm of ‘big data’ and develop a solution that uses adaptive machine learning (AI) to empower the Bank’s financial advisory unit to provide the ultimate and personalized banking experience for their clients.

Chief Executive Officer of BisB, Hassan Jarrar, said, “The BisB Innovation Challenge and tech-focused Fintech Competitions of this nature are imperative for innovation in this day and age, especially considering the upcoming challenges facing the financial industry, both in the wake of COVID-19 and to effectively bridge the existent gap we have in the market when it comes to innovative Fintech solutions.” Ten teams will be selected from the first round, which will be then shortlisted to five to compete in a demo day.

In addition to satisfying regulatory requirements, the proposed solution can either take the form of an early-stage or build on the existing product through a genuine enhancement. Finalists will be announced in January 2021.