Welcome to Economic Impact, conversations from Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine for economic development and industrial advancement of the UAE. In each instalment CEO Ahmed Al Naqbi speaks to change-makers and thought-leaders in the UAE to learn how they’re contributing to the nation’s economy and realising the UAE’s economic ambitions.
For this episode Her Excellency Raja Al Mazrouei, CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance joins us to talk fintech in the Gulf region, as well as to tell us about her career journey to Etihad Credit Insurance.
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Speaker 1: HOST
Speaker 2: GUEST
00:00:00 INTRO V/O
“This is Economic Impact...Conversations from Emirates Development Bank”.
00:00:05 Speaker 1
A’salaam A’laikoom. Welcome to Economic Impact, conversations with Emirates Development Bank. We have a special guest with us today. Her Excellency Raja Al Mazrouei, the CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance. Her Excellency has been appointed the CEO back in May of this year and has been instrumental in driving ECI strategic transformation plans as well as enhancing the operational efficiencies.
00:00:26 Speaker 1
She is also currently the board member of Al Ansari Financial Services, UAE digital bank Zand, Al Masraf Arab Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade, and Ittihad International investments.
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Raja is also a member of the board of trustees at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government. Raja, thank you so much for joining us today, welcome…
00:00:44 Speaker 2
Thank you for having me.
00:00:45 Speaker 1
If we can jump right into it. Raja, could you tell me a bit about your background and your career path and how you had this path towards ECI?
00:00:55 Speaker 2
Well, it's been a journey, Ahmed. And I don't think I had a solid plan on where to land, but I think it's a collective of everything. I started in technology, I've studied technology and I started my career in technology. I was a programmer…
00:01:11 Speaker 2
Moved within different IT roles and different organizations till I joined the DIFC back in 2010 and since then I have been as well in technology and operations till 2014 I've decided to jump ships and move from back office.
00:01:30 Speaker 2
operation and support to front face marketing and business development and since then have been engaged with the financial services sector and in 2017
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was time to look at the strategy for the financial center and we realised that technology was disrupting all sectors, including financial services, and there was an opportunity for the DIFC to transform itself into a Fintech hub, er, Fintech being the enabler of technology and financial services. And I was really excited about that
00:02:05 Speaker 2
because I understood technology too well and I was really starting to learn a lot about the financial services and I thought that that would be an exciting opportunity to explore the Fintech sector further.
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And since then, I have been engaged with tech startups, mainly in Financial Services Fintechs and Insure Techs, helping them access business opportunities within the UAE understand the regulatory framework, access funding opportunities, onboard talent to build their tech startups from here.
00:02:38 Speaker 2
And I got exposed to different solutions and from there I was actually building the foundation for the Fintech industry in the UAE and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that has enabled me to contribute to shaping this sector.
00:02:56 Speaker 2
And from there I started to work with a lot of financial institutions and I think the main value that I've added as a person coming from a technology background spending a few years in marketing and business development of financial services, I was able to simplify the conversation between the technology
00:03:16 Speaker 2
startups and the financial institutions and the regulator.
00:03:21 Speaker 2
When you talk about innovation…
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…innovation could be scary. It could be easy, but it really depends on how you pass on this message and you prepare this individual to receive your idea. And I think communication plays a major role in there. Since I started working with Fintechs, I've gained a lot of experience and knowledge and I have been
00:03:42 Speaker 2
growing in my career by joining boards of financial institutions who appreciated that blend of experience between technology and financial services.
00:03:53 Speaker 2
And this year, I was, as I decided to move on from my Fintech career, I was asked to join ECI as the Chief Executive Officer and ECI is the trade credit insurance company of the UAE Government and we provide trade credit solutions for exporters
00:04:13 Speaker 2
and manufacturers from the UAE, we'd like to enable them access to global market opportunities from here
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so all of that blend and Fintech has eventually prepared me to take on this role and contribute at a larger scale for the UAE.
00:04:28 Speaker 1
It's a very interesting career and very interesting career path. I remember actually meeting you for the first time at the Fintech Hive when you were leading it at the DIFC. And I remember looking around and think to myself, wow, Mash’Allah, it all exists here in the country. All of these startups, all of these companies that were in the financial services, or let's say the future of the financial services sector,
00:04:47 Speaker 1
were all being developed and built there.
00:04:49 Speaker 1
What were some of the most interesting ones? I'm sure there was a couple that came by and maybe they weren't successful.
00:04:54 Speaker 1
But they were very, very interesting in the sense of what they were looking to do or what they were looking to achieve. Was there anything that stands out in your mind, any from the days of the Fintech Hive?
00:05:02 Speaker 2
Absolutely. There are quite few when I think of the Fintech Hive. When we started we were very small and they started as an initiative and I worked with the startups: I knew their founders; I knew their; partners; I knew their family
00:05:18 Speaker 2
and I worked closely with them to understand their technologies, but by the time I left, it was more than 100, more than 500 startups. And honestly, I don't remember all of them. But I do remember the ones that were really unique. I am proud of our first startup, Sarwa…I'm sure you know Sarwa which does robo-advisory
00:05:37 Speaker 2
and created an opportunity for individuals to access the world of financial investments at smaller ticket prices.
00:05:49 Speaker 2
The second one is Norbloc…and Norbloc, I think, they provide the KYC solution on the blockchain and today they're working with more than 10 or 11 financial institutions and this facilitates the verification of documents and that they're growing, I mean exponentially within the region. And I'm so proud
00:05:58
Yes, yes.
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of them.
00:06:11 Speaker 2
There is local fintech, Baytuki…I don't know if you've heard of it. It's co-founded by, or founded by, Latifa Bin Hayder. So Latifa joined the accelerator, or mentorship program that we have launched as part of the DIFC Fintech Hive. And this program was looking at developing talent and she's a UAE National,
00:06:20 Speaker 1
OK.
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graduated from University American University of Sharjah joined the program, got excited about the opportunity and started on building her own platform.
00:06:40 Speaker 2
She does crowdfunding for real estate investments for women.
00:06:46 Speaker 1
Crowdfunding, OK.
00:06:47 Speaker 2
Yeah, and I'm, I'm really proud of Latifa. And I'm sure that she's able to grow and scale this company to to be, you know, of a significant contribution.
00:06:56 Speaker 1
Do you remember how they, how they had that set up for the crowdfunding? Was it on blockchain or was it that they had some kind of?
00:07:05
Er, what are they called?
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…ratio ownership, where you have like bits and pieces of the ownership…
00:07:07 Speaker 2
It's fractional ownership, yeah…
00:07:09 Speaker 1
OK, fractional ownership. OK, very interesting.
00:07:10 Speaker 2
…and it's regulated under the DFSA, so it's not one of those easy tech solutions that you just put the idea and the team behind it, it's actually going through the regulatory framework because that journey, you have to educate everyone around you about the technology…
00:07:26 Speaker 1
Of course.
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…and Latifa has done an amazing job. She's regulated by the DFSA and is operating right now in the market.
00:07:32 Speaker 1
Just before I move on to tax credit insurance because I find this very fascinating, the experience at the Fintech hive
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and I'm sure a lot of the listeners would love to hear, but what? What did you find was the key elements for success in the entrepreneurs that were looking to establish themselves in the Fintech hive to set up their business, but maybe not just at the Fintech hive, but just in general with entrepreneurs. What did you find were key elements of success in those entrepreneurs?
00:08:00 Speaker 2
I think one of the most important elements is really believing in what you are trying to do because a lot of entrepreneurs come with different ideas and they have funding and they have teams, but they're not 100%
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confident in what they are pitching, so I've noticed the ones that knew the value like they knew their names are the ones that believed in it and fought till the end. Because there are a lot of challenges in building and innovative solution in a traditional environment and it's not only about the regulators not giving you the…
00:08:31 Speaker 2
…the regulation you require or the companies and banks not opening their API's or not being able to hire the team that you want to scale, but if you had that confidence and belief and you know commitment then you will be able to definitely onboard everybody to support your cause and eventually, roll out the solution.
00:08:49 Speaker 2
And I think being integrated within the ecosystem, if you look at the UAE, there is
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unlimited resources for entrepreneurs to access, whether it's funding, whether it's acceleration, whether it's business opportunities, coaching, mentoring, onboarding…
00:09:09 Speaker 2
However, if the entrepreneurs are not blended within the ecosystem, they wouldn't know about those opportunities. They call it social intelligence, be there everywhere and
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benefit from everything that's there in the ecosystem to create and launch your solution.
00:09:26 Speaker 1
Very fascinating. So now with Etihad Credit Insurance, you've joined the organization in May. You have a specific goal and objective with that organization. Umm, you mentioned that the credit insurance is responsible for the insurance
00:09:42 Speaker 1
of export products, right. Would you like to talk a bit about what does Etihad Credit Insurance do, in order to make sure that the listeners also understand more about Etihad Credit Insurance?
00:09:50 Speaker 2
Absolutely. So, Etihad Credit Insurance is a federal entity owned by the UAE Government and its mandate is really to facilitate exports from the UAE to the world.
00:10:01 Speaker 2
Now international trade comes with lots of complexities and a lot of risks, and as Etihad Credit Insurance, we take on those risks to facilitate those trade transactions for the companies from the UAE to access those global market opportunities.
00:10:17 Speaker 2
In addition, we work very closely with the tight ecosystem of supporters, including the Ministry of Foreign Trade, who is signing CEPA agreements everywhere right between the UAE and few of the leading countries to enable those companies access those markets with…
00:10:36 Speaker 2
…I would say - I would like to say - no barriers, but at least limited barriers and certain subsidies and exceptions that facilitate their growth. For example, their CEPA agreements with India, with Indonesia, with Turkey, and if you combine those
00:10:49 Speaker 2
markets the opportunity for the manufacturers and traders in the UAE actually multiplies by 10s and 20 times and their access to funding then becomes even, you know, more important and for them to be able to capture
00:11:09 Speaker 2
all those opportunities, we provide them the solutions that would guarantee their payments from those international markets. And once the financial institutions see that those companies have actually insurance against non-payment, then they become even more confident and lend them further to grow their
00:11:27 Speaker 2
operations from here to meet the export demands.
00:11:30 Speaker 1
Which countries do you see the most traction with right now? So, based on the ones, as you've just mentioned, we're signing a lot of CEPA agreements as a country with many different countries around the world and there's many that are in the works right now. Which ones have you seen recently really gain a lot of traction?
00:11:46 Speaker 2
So as ECI, we currently cover exposures of our traders and 112 countries.
00:11:52 Speaker 1
Right.
00:11:53 Speaker 2
So, we work all over the world, but the CEPA countries are more attractive as business opportunities for our traders because they have a certain set of exemptions and fast track access.
00:12:04 Speaker 2
So, what we do at Etihad Credit Insurance, we look at those countries and we look at their top imports from the world and we try to match it with exporters from the UAE. So, we do this approach country by country and we work with the community to see how can we match them, access those markets. So, if I was a trader…
00:12:24 Speaker 2
…or exporter from the UAE. I will definitely look at the CEPA countries and how can I benefit or where should would I benefit the most and I would go with Etihad Credit Insurance.
00:12:35 Speaker 2
Because that's the immediate opportunity. Now there are long term transactions that definitely come with the greater opportunities like all of the investments in the sustainable finance and the renewable energy in the African continent. But those opportunities are ready for bigger companies who are
00:12:55 Speaker 2
able to take on bigger projects, but for the immediate international expansion, I would look at CEPA countries.
00:13:03 Speaker 1
OK, so I'm an exporter…
00:13:05 Speaker 1
…I produce locally and I'm looking to export. What would I do? How would I go about availing these services from ECI? What would I do? Do I go to a website? Do I call a phone number? How do I go about it? Can you walk us through step by step? What would I do in order to be able to avail these kinds of services and what the requirements would be for it?
00:13:25 Speaker 2
So, our website has just been relaunched and it has all the information and the journey that the customer needs to understand the service and even what premium we charge.
00:13:38 Speaker 2
So, we have a premium estimator on our website where you go and you say I want to export to this country, this is the whole turnover value of my exports and these are the sectors and you put in few parameters. We try to make it very simple, so that at least they have an idea of the premium and then you press the button…
00:13:59 Speaker 2
you receive the…
00:14:00 Speaker 1
Quotation?
00:14:01 Speaker 2
…it's an estimation…
00:14:03 Speaker 2
in your inbox, once you receive that, if you think that it's valuable or it's something that you would like to work with, then we can meet and discuss all the specifics that will give you and guarantee you to get the best price in the market. Our focus as ECI is really on enhancing non-oil trade transactions and diversification of the economy and we focus on technology, on healthcare, food security and the renewable energy. So, we would go after those clients and we would match them also with opportunities in global markets related to those sectors. So, if they come to our website and they register that interest. We will keep them in our pipeline and match them for future opportunities as well.
00:14:48 Speaker 1
So, it sounds to me like you've brought a lot of that Fintech digital experience into ECI. Can you talk a bit about that? What are the enhancements that you're doing this? It sounds very, very, like a seamless…
00:15:01 Speaker 1
…process for the end users to be able to do everything digitally, from the convenience of their homes or their offices, and then you know the physical aspect of meeting and discussing only comes after the fact of really understanding that they need this and they want this.
00:15:15 Speaker 1
And they'll sit and go through specific requirements. Can you go through a bit of the digital transformation that ECI has undergone, or still undergoing, as we speak as we speak now?
00:15:24 Speaker 2
So, we have a lot of digital initiatives that are still going on within ECI, but the main objective of those initiatives is really to is the customer onboarding journey, create awareness about trade, credit insurance because it's a very niche market and very niche product that
00:15:44 Speaker 2
is not easy to understand for non-financial services kind of audience, but it's very relevant at the same time. So, what we're trying to do is also simplify the language, make sure that we speak the public’s language when we say we ensure exports, that they understand how we ensure exports because sometimes they…
00:16:04 Speaker 2
…they start to ask how do you do it? Why do I need it? And, and all of these questions and obviously you only need insurance when you are in trouble. So, you've insured your car for the last 10-15 years, but you only appreciate the insurance if, God forbid, something happen…
00:16:19 Speaker 2
And the same with the trade credit insurance. If you are investing your funds and your time and your talent in developing a product to meet a requirement from an international buyer, if you don't receive the payment, then that will have a significant impact on your business. And that's the risk that we take on so that businesses can focus on their growth and expansion from the UAE.
00:16:43 Speaker 1
That's fantastic. What do you foresee for the future of ECI? How do you see ECI growing into the future that you've described the services the, the upgrade of the digital technology, do you foresee any growth towards any new services, new products, an expansion for ECI?
00:17:02 Speaker 2
So, as you know, the UAE always recreates itself and relaunches ambitious targets, and we continue to achieve them. And I think that is very inspirational.
00:17:12 Speaker 2
And with regards to foreign trade, the mandate of the UAE government is really to triple, the foreign trade and triple the non-oil trade, and that translates immediately for us, tripling our coverage and support for UAE businesses by 2031.
00:17:31 Speaker 2
And that's our guiding principle right now and we are looking at how can we increase our contribution to the economic GDP and the economic agenda and the diversification agenda of the UAE, but on top of that, we would like to
00:17:48 Speaker 2
accelerate exports from the UAE to the world and there are many ways to accelerate exports and one of them is partnering with financial institutions. We work with the EDB on multiple initiatives. We are on an outreach program now to financial institutions, making sure that they understand the specifics of our product…
00:18:08 Speaker 2
…and how can it help financial institutions as well secure their payments?
00:18:13 Speaker 2
We are reaching out to traders, manufacturers, all the economic development entities within the UAE to make sure that target audience understand because what we have realized is companies from outside the UAE are considering moving their operations to the UAE
00:18:33 Speaker 2
to leverage on the access to markets, access to funding, access to insurance, access to a secure and fast logistics system.
00:18:40 Speaker 2
So, they are moving those to benefit from the CEPA agreements from here. So that creates a huge opportunity for our foreign trade to grow and we are committed to investing the right tools and resources to facilitate that. Looking at using smart contracts
00:19:01 Speaker 2
wherever we have an open-minded partner, because this would really is the verification of all the documents and also it will fast track those applications.
00:19:13 Speaker 1
Right. Have you seen an uptick in in exports? I mean, do you do you have access to the data that comes out of the Ministry of Economy, how's that looked over the past six months/one year with these kinds of initiatives coming into play?
00:19:27 Speaker 2
So I think, we have access to all of these information and we keep a close eye on the top trends that we can capture. For example, we've realized that the UAE is the top exporter of rice in the world…
00:19:41 Speaker 1
Oh wow!
00:19:42 Speaker 2
…and I was like, who are the rice exporters? Go and find them because you know that means that the UAE is playing a major role in food security.
00:19:52 Speaker 2
If it’s the number one rice exporter, there are lots of traders that are receiving those rice products that they are exporting it that are linking with the shipping infrastructure. So, we look at all of these trends and we try to make sure that it's aligned with our initiatives and then we reach out to them to make sure they're part of our…
00:20:13 Speaker 2
…portfolio, as I mentioned, we work with the global mega-projects and international ECA’s
00:20:21 Speaker 2
on international projects and the opportunity for integrating the UAE content in those projects are huge because when they reach out to us
00:20:34 Speaker 2
for partnership and capacity building, we say we're more than happy to do it. Can we have a portion of the transaction for UAE content? And obviously that's the approach.
00:20:44 Speaker 2
So, we go back, we look at the relevant UAE companies and we plug them into those projects. So yes, we keep an eye on all of this data and try to match-make as we go.
00:20:55 Speaker 1
That's amazing. That's adding so much value to existing producers that are here in the UAE where that value may be that it exists but a player like ECI can easily you know, have access to that data. That's very creative and finding ways to plug them into the ecosystem.
00:21:09 Speaker 2
Ahmed, one more thing. On our website we have integrated and export potential map…
00:21:15 Speaker 2
OK
00:21:16 Speaker 2
… so if you are a trader or manufacturer in the UAE and you know you are producing…
00:21:19 Speaker 1
It's like a heat map. You show them, you show them where, where the parts of the world…
00:21:22 Speaker 2
Yeah, if you're producing microphones, you can see who's importing microphones around the world and who are the companies and how can you reach them? So, once you get that, you click on a button, then someone from easy, I will reach out to you and do the onboarding process…
00:21:37 Speaker 2
… but that's a tool that is very relevant to every manufacturer, producer in the UAE who's interested to export, because how does he know? Do I export to India? Do I export to Indonesia? Where do I invest my time and relationship and in which market…and ECI already have those relationships and those companies can benefit from them.
00:21:49 Speaker 1
Right, right, right.
00:21:56 Speaker 1
That's amazing. That's amazing.
00:21:58 Speaker 1
COP 28 is now upon us. What are the plans for ECI in relation to COP 28? I know that as you just mentioned, renewables is a big sector of focus for ECI. Are there any specific plans for COP 28? Anything you are looking to do with ECI during COP 28?
00:22:16 Speaker 2
So, COP 28 and the sustainability is a huge focus area for ECI and within that regard we have launched two products this year. One of them is the Green Working Capital where we work with financial institutions on financing companies that are investing or producing green products.
00:22:36 Speaker 2
The other one is Green Insurance and launching these two products showcase the commitment of ECI to support the sustainable sectors?
00:22:49 Speaker 2
In addition, we are hosting a lot of, I would say, between a round table and event where we bring in global ECA's into the UAE to discuss what the role the ECA's play in enabling sustainable financing projects. We're hosting an event on the 8th of December at COP 28, we have speakers from all over the world, reinsurers, ECA's, export finance experts, all speaking about the opportunities of sustainable finance and how can ECA's be part that?
00:23:24 Speaker 2
On top of that, we joined the COP Presidency in Kenya for the Africa Investment Initiative and there the UAE pledged US$4.5 billion of investment in renewable energy in Africa, in the African continent.
00:23:44 Speaker 2
And ECI committed to insuring US$500 million of those projects. So, we're working very closely with the COP leadership and the partnering institutions Abu Dhabi Fund for development, EMEA power and Masdar on looking at the right projects, matching them to the needs and then also funding and insuring those transactions.
00:24:11 Speaker 1
That's great. I wish you all the success, Insha’Allah, at COP 28 and with the future endeavors of ECI.
00:24:17 Speaker 1
Thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate your time, very interesting information and I wish all of your clients all the success in their future, thank you.
00:24:24 Speaker 2
Thank you so much Ahmed, for having me and I will look forward to working together and achieving much more for our country.
00:24:31 Speaker 1
Insha’Allah, thank you.
00:24:32 OUTRO V/O
“Economic Impact. Conversations from Emirates Development Bank”.