SparkHub successfully hosted the sixth edition of its signature founder networking series, Huddle – Fintech Edition, bringing together around 90 participants, including startup founders, entrepreneurs, aspiring founders, students, technology enthusiasts and policymakers, under one roof to connect, share experiences and explore opportunities within the evolving fintech ecosystem.

Powered by Bank of Maldives and Mastercard, the event was designed to bring together the different players shaping the Maldives’ fintech landscape — from startups and entrepreneurs to financial institutions, technology companies and policymakers — and create an open space for meaningful conversations about the future of financial technology in the country.

Held at The Grand Parkside in Hulhumalé, the event featured five founders and technology leaders who shared their journeys of building and scaling businesses and technology products in the Maldives.

The speaker lineup included Ali Arif, Managing Director of FahiPay; Abdullah Miuvan Shareef, CEO & CFO of eeezap; Ali Haris, Co-Founder of Payer; Hassan Fahmy, Co-Founder of Hubits (Foodops); and Hassan Rameez, Founder & Chairperson of Avas App.

Rather than focusing solely on the products they have built, the founders shared the stories behind their ventures — how they identified problems, brought teams together, navigated challenges and turned ideas into businesses and products serving the Maldivian market.

The event also featured a special session by Shobhit Arora, Innovation Lead, South Asia at Mastercard, who spoke about the future of payments, explored emerging opportunities for startups within the evolving payments ecosystem, and shared insights on how founders can engage with Mastercard and seek support as they develop and scale their solutions.

Malishini Punchihewa, Manager – Fintech and Channel Partnerships, Sri Lanka & Maldives at Mastercard, also joined the event, representing Mastercard and engaging with founders and ecosystem stakeholders throughout the programme. Her participation provided an opportunity for local startups and institutions to connect directly with Mastercard and explore potential avenues for collaboration within the wider Mastercard ecosystem.

Together, the Mastercard sessions provided participants with a broader understanding of the changing payments landscape while opening up conversations around how Maldivian startups can connect with and leverage a global technology partner as they build and scale.

The session explored the changing landscape of payments, opportunities for innovation and how Maldivian startups can potentially work with and benefit from a global technology partner such as Mastercard as they build and scale.

For SparkHub, the edition was centred on creating a space where the local fintech ecosystem could come together, have open conversations and better understand the opportunities available to startups through partnerships with established global technology players.

“With Huddle – Fintech Edition, our objective was simple — to bring the fintech ecosystem together under one roof and create a space where startups, institutions, policymakers and other players could have an open conversation. We also wanted our local startups to see the opportunities that exist beyond our immediate ecosystem and understand how they can potentially benefit from working with a global technology partner like Mastercard. For a small ecosystem like ours, creating these connections can open doors that individual startups may not otherwise have access to.”
— Hussain Jinan, Co-Founder & CEO, SparkHub

The event followed Huddle’s informal and conversation-driven format, beginning with a curated storytelling segment before moving into an open networking session. This allowed participants to engage directly with speakers and fellow ecosystem members, encouraging conversations beyond the stage.

The gathering also provided an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and students to interact directly with founders and learn from their experiences of building businesses in the Maldives.

As the country’s digital economy continues to develop, bringing the different stakeholders of the fintech ecosystem together will be increasingly important in identifying opportunities for collaboration, supporting local innovation and creating pathways for Maldivian startups to access larger regional and global ecosystems.

Huddle – Fintech Edition is part of SparkHub’s continued efforts to build stronger connections within the Maldivian startup ecosystem and create platforms where entrepreneurs can learn from one another, connect with institutions and explore new opportunities for growth.

Watch Highlights (Video)