• Led by some of the world's leading fintech and tech growth experts, Archie will identify and support high-potential, early-stage fintechs in the UAE and wider GCC
  • Held within the DIFC, Archie will hold its first SUPERSCALE event in Dubai – offering fintech founders and leaders from across the UAE’s fintech ecosystem insights into what it takes to propel their business into hyper-growth mode
  • New fintech growth acceleration model will invest Archie’s intellectual capital and growth expertise to help fintechs succeed in their transition from start-ups to scale-up and become sustained high-growth businesses, in market and across the world

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Archie has chosen the UAE as its first global launch market, bringing the firm’s innovative new growth acceleration model to the region’s fast-growing fintech market.

The UAE’s Digital Economy Strategy is targeted at increasing the digital sector's share in the UAE's GDP from 9.7% to more than 20% by 2031. Currently, the UAE's digital economy stands at an estimated $38 billion – by 2031, it is projected to surpass $140 billion in value.[1]

With this ambition, the region is set to become an even more prominent part of the global fintech scene, with significant pools of investment and a strong focus on attracting some of the world’s best talent. Investor funding for fintech start-ups alone in MENAP more than quadrupled from nearly $200 million in 2020 to approximately $885 million in 2022.[2]

Archie has therefore identified the UAE and wider GCC as a central part of the firm’s long-term ambitions to partner with some of the world’s most exciting fintechs. Led by some of the world’s leading fintech growth experts, Archie is launching with an ambition to help the UAE’s ecosystem and support the best fintechs to successfully deliver their go-to-market plans and propel their fintechs from early growth into hyper-scale.

Offering a new partner model to accelerate fintech growth , Archie will invest its intellectual capital, go-to-market and growth expertise, along with the highly-prized ARCHIE NETWORK in exchange for equity – a key differentiator with the fintech ecosystem, designed specifically to ensure a true partnership with fintech founders, aligning all interests and focussing efforts on driving success.

Archie has been founded by serial fintech entrepreneur Anthony Thomson who founded and Chaired both Atom and Metro Bank in the United Kingdom and digital bank 86 400 in Australia. Anthony currently also sits on the board of WIO Bank based in the UAE.

Archie’s senior team also includes global tech and fintech leader Steve Brennen as Co-Founder and CEO (Uber, PayPal, eBay & Zip), along with fellow Co-Founders Tommy Mermelshtayn (global scaler and strategy, Zip and Equifax) and Richard McCandless (brand and performance optimisation, FCB and Publicis Groupe).

Banking and tech veterans Fawaz Zu’bi (founder and CEO of global venture capital firm Silicon Badia) and Paul Pester (Chair of Tandem Bank, former CEO of TSB and Virgin Money globally, and founder of Loop) will also provide expertise acting as Non-Executive Directors.

Co-Founder and CEO of Archie, Steve Brennen, said:

“The UAE has set out an ambition to continue to grow and be one of the leading well-regulated and forward-thinking financial services hubs.

“It’s set to be a prominent part of the global fintech scene, attracting some of the world’s best talent and global investors. Archie wants to help build on that dream and we’re thrilled to be here, and even more excited to get started in unlocking the growth potential for founders and the region as a whole.”

The Archie team, will be hosting their first SUPERSCALE event at DIFC in Dubai on Tuesday 12 September.

Archie is inviting fintech founders to attend the first SUPERSCALE event, along with leaders and investors from across the GCC fintech ecosystem, to learn from Archie’s world-leading team on the opportunities and challenges facing fintech scale-ups, and practical solutions to unleash their exponential growth. The event will be held in partnership with Wio Bank and Legal Intro.

-Ends-​​​​​​

For further info or interview requests, please contact:
Joann Joseph, Instinctif Partners
E: Joann.Joseph@instinctif.com

About Archie

Archimedes changed the world when he proved the application of the lever – ”give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world” – giving people the ability to build more, move more and create more with the right amount of leverage.

Archie, as Archimedes would be called today, was founded on the principle that great ideas should never die. Unfortunately, most companies fail to achieve their mainstream potential – and that’s where we come in. We provide early-stage fintech businesses with the levers needed to get them across “the chasm” and into hyper-growth.

Find out more at www.archiegrowth.com

The ARCHIE NETWORK

The ARCHIE NETWORK provides partners access to talent, regulators, service providers, distribution partners, and board and governance associates across multiple markets.

The Archie Team

The Archie team consists of some of fintech’s most experienced growth experts, investors and senior executives, including:

Anthony Thomson, Co-Founder and Chair

Anthony Thomson is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and chaired three banks on two continents, including Atom, one of Europe’s first digital banks, leading challenger Metro Bank, and the Australian digital bank 86 400.

Anthony currently sits on a number of boards and holds advisory roles for other leading businesses, including ASX listed Humm Group, ila Bank and Wio Bank.

Steve Brennen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

A highly awarded marketer and seasoned growth practitioner, Steve has held senior leadership roles for some of the world’s fastest-growing and most valuable brands, including Uber, PayPal, eBay, Virgin, Zip Co. Along with leading the Archie team, he is the current Chair of ADMA, the largest marketing association in APAC.

He has launched and scaled brands in more than 20 markets, acquired over 100M consumers at an acquisition cost of under $10, and taken three brands to the #1 global position.

Tommy Mermelshtayn, Co-Founder and Head of Strategy – global scaler and strategy, including roles at Zip and Equifax.

Richard McCandless, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer – brand and performance optimisation, including roles at FCB and Publicis Groupe.

Non-Executive Directors

Paul Pester, Non-Executive Director – Tandem Bank (Chair), Virgin Money & TSB (CEO), Loop (Founder), Cardeo (Chair), National Bank of Bahrain (Non-Executive Director)

Fawaz Zu’bi, Non-Executive Director – Silicon Badia (Founder), Accelerator Technology Holdings (Founder & CEO) and former ICT Minister, Kingdom of Jordan.

[1] https://www.dubaichamberdigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Dubai-Digitized-Economy-Entrepreneur.pdf
[2] MAGNiTT (database of venture capital funding for the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Türkiye), February 3, 2023, accessed via Fintech in MENAP: A solid foundation for growth, McKinsey & Company