Hi, there!
Today I have an interesting Q&A to share with you. Meet Arjun Vir Singh. One of the leading LinkedIn voices for the Gulf Region, he’s an avid commentator of the FinTech scene and a Partner with Arthur D. Little (ADL) based in Dubai, UAE.
Before we get started:
If you haven’t already, follow Arjun on LinkedIn here.
You can also sign up for his LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch, here.
Sign up for his weekly podcast, Couchonomics with Arjun Singh, here.
You can also visit his website, Couchonomics, here.
Check out Arthur D. Little’s website here.
Let’s get to it!
Tell us a little about yourself and how/when you got into the FinTech space.
I am a Partner with Arthur D. Little (ADL) based in Dubai, UAE.
For those who don’t know, ADL is the oldest consulting firm in the world. It was established 135 years ago.
I focus on the wider financial services sector – especially on the application of technology in the sector (i.e. Fintech, Payments, etc), Future of Finance (e.g. Convergence, Embedded Finance, etc) and the emerging new world order (i.e. Crypto, Digital Assets, DeFI, etc)
I have over the last 3-4 years become an active commentator on the evolving financial services and fintech ecosystem in the MENA region. In 2020, I was one of the ‘LinkedIn Voices’ of the Gulf Region. Recently, I launched my own Podcast – ‘Couchonomics with Arjun Singh” which I host and I publish a weekly newsletter called ‘Couchonomics Crunch’ both of which focus on topics such as Fintech, Crypto, Platforms and Web3.
My career has taken me across the world - the US, Europe, SEA and now the Middle East. I live in Dubai (mostly in an aircraft) and I have a wife and two young daughters.
How did you get into FinTech?
The application of emerging technology in traditional sectors has always interested and intrigued me.
I was fortunate enough to get introduced to what we now call Fintech at the very beginning of my career when I was with GE Capital (in their Consumer and Auto Finance Division).
Then during my stint in Telecom, I worked on several projects where we explored how we could leverage our Telco assets to enter the FS world (leveraging technology mostly).
I then got to run a Payments and Fintech Business Unit (across MEA and SEA) for a large Retail Conglomerate (where we were embedding finance before the term embedded finance became popular).
Now, I am an active angel investor and board advisor to a range of Fintechs across the world.
You publish interesting updates on LinkedIn as well as a newsletter and podcast. Why and when did you start sharing this?
Started a year before Covid-19 when I was on a trip to Singapore. Following a meeting with the senior team at Grab Financials (we were negotiating a partnership) one of my team members, Johnny Guyenne (who is now with Visa), insisted that I started to share my viewpoint and thoughts with a wider audience (beyond the team) and use LinkedIn as a platform. I have always been fond of reading (still dedicate c2 hours a day to read articles, books, etc) so it sort of came naturally. I am still amazed that people value some of what I have to share.
On top of it, commentators and influencers like you have proven to be very inspiring to me personally. I learn a lot from reading how you all present your thoughts and viewpoints.
What are the FinTech trends to watch out for in the next 6-18 months?
I am going to go wider than Fintech and keep my focus on the region where I spend most of my time; interesting trends to watch, in no particular order, include:
How long will the funding winter last, and what will be the size of the casualty (both globally and within the region)
Disruption in Payments (especially in 3 areas – Cross Border Payments, B2B Payments and Introduction of Real-Time/ A2A payments)
Open Banking and Open Finance Adoption in our region (will it catalyse a wave of new fintechs in the region who are more original)
Will Embedded Finance (in all its different variants) truly achieve its potential; there needs to be a lot more done in terms of infrastructure and product
Will the smaller and nimbler banks truly target opportunities such as serving the underserved – SME and lower income segment; position themselves as ‘friends of fintechs’ and truly adopt and offer a compelling BaaS offering, etc
How will the large traditional banks respond to the ‘potential’ threats of the digital banks which are popping up in most of the MENA/ GCC countries (will they swallow them up, launch their own digital attackers, lobby the regulator, etc)
Will we truly see a genuine superapp emerge in the MENA region. I personally don’t think a mobility based SuperApp can and will succeed but there is better hope of one of the telco’s and/or a delivery players evolving into a superapp/ digital ecosystem play
Middle-East is trying to position themselves as the “Crypto Capital” of the world and also extending their ‘play’ into the web3 economy; will that truly happen
Evolution in regulation regarding topics such alternative lending (BNPL), Digital Currencies (CBDC, Stablecoins, Crypto), Digital Identities, etc
Are there any other thought leaders in FinTech you follow and others should follow as well?
It will be rude of me to name folks and run the risk of missing others. I think there are some amazing Thought Leaders who are active on multiple medium. I would suggest that folks pick topics of interest and then follow a handful.
What’s on your bookshelf/ reading list?
1. I am re-reading ‘Secret of Sandhill Road’ by Scott Kuport
2. DeFI and the Future of Finance by Harvey, Ramachandran and Santoro
Once I am done with the above, I am going to start The Metaverse by Mathew Ball
(Not sure if the above truly qualify as Fintech Books)
What’s one interesting thing most people won’t know about you?
I am a foodie and used to blog regularly about places I used to eat at and food I used to cook at home (On Instagram; the handle is called Global_Foodies). Every year I curate a 2 week holiday with my family (and sometimes with friends) where the sole purpose is to explore a country or a region from a culinary (food and drinks) perspective. I have been at it for over 15 years and trust me, I have been to some very remote corners of the world to experience different cuisine and you don’t want to know some of the things that I have eaten and drunk during that period. Food is a serious topic for me and I can truly say that ‘I live to eat and drink’.
I have been fortunate enough to have eaten at more than twenty-five 3-Star Michelin Restaurants and nearly 100 which have at least 1-star across multiple countries (and cuisines). My favourite restaurant is called Azurmendi which is near Bilbao in the Basque Region of Spain.
One of my ambitions is to own a restaurant (somewhere in the countryside) where I get to run, host, and entertain people with food and drink. The plan is already in the works 😊.