“Capital of Capital”: Swati Babel Backs Abu Dhabi’s FIDA Cluster for the $100 Trillion Wealth Shift

Abu Dhabi’s new FIDA cluster aligns regulation, capital and fintech as global wealth shifts to a new generation, says trade finance CEO Swati Babel.

ABU DHABI, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, December 15, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Swati Babel, Founder & CEO of cross-border trade finance platform Globizera and a regular commentator on fintech and private credit, has published a new opinion piece on Abu Dhabi’s FIDA cluster, arguing that the emirate is becoming a “natural home” for capital in the coming $100 trillion global wealth transfer.

The article, titled “From Sovereign Strength to Smart Regulation, FIDA Makes Abu Dhabi the Natural Home for $100 Trillion in New Wealth”, appears in FinTech Industry Examiner, part of the Industry Examiner network, and explores how Abu Dhabi’s FIDA cluster brings fintech, insurance, digital assets and alternative investments under a single, regulatory-first umbrella.

“Two years of closely watching Abu Dhabi Finance Week have convinced me of one thing: the UAE isn’t just hosting a great conference – it’s quietly designing one of the most attractive financial clusters in the world,” said Swati Babel. “With FIDA, Abu Dhabi is signalling that regulation, capital and technology will move together, not separately.”

FIDA: fintech, insurance, digital assets and alternatives under one roof

Launched during ADFW 2025, FIDA – the FinTech, Insurance, Digital Assets and Alternative Assets cluster – is a cross-government initiative led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). It aims to expand Abu Dhabi’s financial sector into high-growth areas spanning fintech, insurance, digital assets and alternative investments, supported by AI-driven solutions and specialised infrastructure.

According to official projections, FIDA is expected by 2045 to:
• Add AED 56 billion (about US$15 billion) to Abu Dhabi’s GDP
• Generate 8,000 direct skilled jobs
• Attract at least AED 17 billion (about US$4.6 billion) in investment

Babel notes that these plans sit on top of Abu Dhabi’s existing financial architecture, centred on Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a common-law financial centre that has already attracted global banks, hedge funds, alternative asset managers and digital-asset firms.

“FIDA is not a logo on a tower; it is a cross-government programme that hard-wires regulators, capital and innovators into one system,” Babel added. “If you are building the next generation of financial infrastructure, Abu Dhabi wants you to do it where sovereign capital, forward-looking regulation and technology are deliberately aligned.”

A regulatory-first answer to the Great Wealth Transfer

The launch of FIDA comes as policy makers and asset managers focus on the Great Wealth Transfer – the multi-decade shift of assets from baby boomers to younger generations. Independent research projects that US$124 trillion in wealth will be transferred in the United States alone through 2048, with nearly US$100 trillion coming from baby boomers and older cohorts.

At ADFW, the NYU Abu Dhabi Stern School of Business released the inaugural Financial Centre Competitiveness Index (FCCI), ranking Abu Dhabi 12th globally and first in MENA, and first worldwide for “regulatory innovation” – a result that underpins FIDA’s “regulatory-first” positioning.

“The Great Wealth Transfer is not just about new heirs; it is about where tomorrow’s balance sheets choose to live,” said Babel. “For globally mobile families and institutions, strong legal systems, treaty networks and supervisory comfort now matter as much as performance. FIDA leans into that reality instead of fighting it.”

Babel’s piece argues that Abu Dhabi’s combination of large sovereign wealth pools, an increasingly data-driven regulatory environment, and sector clusters in areas like agri-food, mobility and life sciences creates a differentiated platform for future capital formation – particularly for alternative assets, digital infrastructure and private credit.

Fintech and private credit in a fast-growing UAE market

The article also highlights data positioning the UAE as one of the fastest-growing fintech markets in the Middle East. UAE fintech start-ups raised around US$265 million in 2024 – roughly one-third of all start-up funding – and the national fintech market is projected to grow from US$3.16 billion in 2024 to US$5.71 billion by 2029.

High levels of digital-banking and smartphone adoption, along with supportive regulation, are helping to make Abu Dhabi an attractive base for fintech and private-credit platforms targeting cross-border trade, SME finance and alternative lending.

“As someone building at the intersection of trade finance, private credit and fintech, I see FIDA as much more than branding,” Babel said. “It is an attempt to align regulation, capital and technology so that the next wave of platforms, family offices and alternative credit vehicles can scale with supervision built in from day one.”

About Swati Babel

Swati Babel is the Founder & CEO of Globizera, a cross-border trade finance platform that structures conventional and non-conventional capital solutions for entrepreneurs and enterprises across emerging markets. She has nearly two decades of experience in global trade finance and has held senior roles at leading trade-finance and fintech institutions.

Babel is a regular commentator on trade finance, private credit, fintech and wealth-management topics, and a contributing author to publications across the globe.

Jessica Brown
Industry Examiner
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