The Finance World Magazine| Edition: April 2023

Interview
Naveen Bharadwaj,
Group CEO, Trescon
Naveen Bharadwaj is the Group CEO of
Trescon, which is managing the Dubai
Fintech Summit organized by DIFC. He
has got 14+ years’ corporate growth experience,
encompassing strategy, partnerships, alliances,
divisional leadership, new market/business
development, marketing, as well as full-cycle
event production & management.
Exclusive to The Finance World Magazine
Q. In your opinion, what has been
the most exciting fintech innovation
in the past year, and why?
Naveen: I think pretty much
everything in the fintech space is
exciting. Fintech as an industry or as
a segment in itself is quite innovative,
but if I were to pick a few innovations
that have either come into the front
in the last year or so, or have started
reaching the maturity curve, I would say
open banking, blended finance, digital
payments and also a lot of sustainabilityrelated
fintech innovations are gaining
popularity.
Q. How can regulators strike
a balance between protecting
consumers and promoting
innovation in the fintech space?
Naveen: I think people often speak
about this area, which is regulation
vs. innovation. I don’t want to talk
about this in general or globally, but
more specifically here in Dubai. I
think the regulators are innovationfocused,
which actually helps the
industry thrive. Take for instance
DIFC, the DIFC Innovation Hub, and
the regulatory sandbox that DIFC
has set up. So, they are creating safe
boundaries for innovation to thrive
without bringing innovation down in
the name of regulation.
Additionally, regulators are working
closely with the entire ecosystem, so
the banking and financial institutions,
startup and mature fintechs, investors,
innovators, and the academia are all
brought together to see what the need of
the hour is and how they can accelerate
the industry. At the same time, they are
brought together to see how they can
also be mindful of the legal boundaries
and the regulations within the country,
which is something happening in this
city. I think this is just an example of
how regulators can protect consumers’
interests on one side, but also make
sure that innovation is thriving on the
other; it is to balance both sides.
Q. What are you most excited for
about the upcoming Dubai Fintech
Summit?
Naveen: The Dubai Fintech Summit
is going to be arguably the best fintech
event to be ever launched, with 5000
– 7000 participants, who are all CEOs
of banking and financial institutions,
founders and owners of startups, people
leading venture capitals, private equity
firms, investors, people representing
institutional investors, as well as
high-net-worth individuals. Equally
important, there is the incredible
lineup of speakers that we have. There
are three stages, across which we
have speakers like Bill Winters, the
Global CEO of Standard Chartered,
Piyush Gupta, the Group CEO of DBS
Singapore, Michael Shaulov, CEO of
Fireblocks, in addition to ministers and
governors. The lineup is so magnificent
that you have people that are thinkers,
doers, and shapers on the regulatory,
governmental, banking, investment,
innovation, and the startup fronts. You
have got the whole ecosystem coming,
in addition to the representation of
the ecosystem on the agenda. So,
I think these are just some of the
things that excite me, but of course
everything about the Dubai Fintech
Summit excites me.
60 www.thefinanceworld.com April 2023