US-based Web3 company Fluent Finance joins UAE's NextGenFDI programme

FinTech company enables cross-border trade and plans to grow its workforce to between 100-125 people within five years

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, centre, with Fluent Finance executives. Photo: Ministry of Economy

Fluent Finance, a US-based developer of a cryptocurrency-based payment platform, has joined the UAE’s NextGenFDI programme and plans to begin operations in Abu Dhabi.

Founded in Delaware in 2020, Fluent aims to make cross-border trade easier. It plans to grow its workforce to between 100-125 people within five years.

The company will use its UAE base to deploy and scale its proprietary Fluent Economic Bridge platform. The new platform can be used by importers and exporters to settle transactions through bank-issued cryptocurrencies, known as stablecoins or deposit tokens.

“I am optimistic about the possibilities of the Fluent Economic Bridge, and the potential for digital currencies to improve the efficiency and accessibility of global supply chains,” said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

By working with banks and regulators in Abu Dhabi, Fluent aims to boost the transparency of cryptocurrency with the security and regulatory structure of the traditional banking system. The company is already piloting its platform in Kenya.

“The UAE offers exactly the kind of supportive, enabling environment that Web3 companies such as Fluent require,” said Bradley Allgood, Fluent Finance’s chief executive.

“The combination of thoughtful regulation, forward-looking vision and advanced technology ambitions means we have the right foundations on which to develop our product and grow our organisation.”

The UAE hopes to attract hundreds of companies to the country as part of a NextGenFDI programme launched last year.

It aims to speed up licensing, ramp up the issuance of bulk or golden visas, improve banking services, and provide commercial and residential lease incentives for advanced technology companies seeking to relocate to the UAE.

Fluent’s approach aligns with the Ministry of Economy’s TradeTech Initiative, which, with the participation of the World Economic Forum, aims to promote the use of advanced technology tools in global supply chains, as well as the country’s comprehensive economic partnership agreement programme, which aims to achieve frictionless trade between the UAE and other economies.