MANAMA: Grant Thornton Abdulaal, a leading Bahrain-based audit and advisory firm, has announced the appointment of Navneet Sharma as director for information technology (IT) advisory services.
A statement said Mr Sharma is a seasoned IT advisory, fintech, cloud services, digital transformation, cyber-security and project management professional with more than 16 years of cross-industry and international consulting experience.
He has led development of proofs of concept and regulatory sandbox trials for fintech and blockchain in Bahrain, the UAE and India.
Mr Sharma has also led and delivered various engagements in IT systems implementation/ post implementation, cyber-security testing and implementation of solutions, IT risk management, system audits, information security in Europe, India, Africa and Middle East.
Grant Thornton Abdulaal’s managing partner Jassim Abdulaal said the appointment reflects recent developments as Bahrain is progressively accelerating towards establishing itself as the first-choice technology hub in the Middle East and Africa region with focus on fintech, blockchain technology, Cloud Services and Cyber Security services.
“Fintech as the confluence of financial services and technology offers individuals as well as small, medium and large corporates opportunities to innovate and deliver services more efficiently and economically.
“We believe that technologies like mobile wallets will contribute positively to converting society to be less dependent on cash, it will also contribute to promoting financial inclusion putting Bahrain at the forefront of the fintech revolution,” added Mr Abdulaal.
The growing number of fintech businesses in the country highlights the importance of quality regulation and human capital, both of which are central to the kingdom’s value proposition, as cited by the EDB in its latest quarterly report as key drivers of foreign direct investment in Bahrain.
“Innovations in fintech have a clear potential to disrupt how the financial sector will operate in the future, creating many opportunities to invent in new products and services that can meet the rapidly changing needs of consumers, whether that is enabling people to pay for goods in shops using their phones, providing greater convenience through fingerprint, or any of the many innovations that businesses in the region are exploring,” said Mr Sharma.
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