Ebtaker, starting up your start up

Jerusalem24 – Non-Bank financial solutions are necessary for aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. Usually when working on a start up, registering and studying the viability of a business project requires a lot of paper work and measuring the sustainability and viability of said start up. Which is why the Palestinian Capital Market Authority and the GIZ partnered to create a platform to facilitate entrepreneurs as they push their projects towards the market.

The “Ebtaker” platform will allow entrepreneurs to network and connect with the Palestinian Capital Market Authority for non-bank financial applications. These are important in the fields of insurance, stocks, financial leasing and even real estate mortgages. The platform provides advice to improve start up concepts through networking and exchanging information with the PCMA, this should help entrepreneurs understand the financial environment of the local market. With the information and networking provided, individuals can develop and implement their ideas, solutions and applications through the platform.

Ebtaker does have its conditions when hosting a project or start up. The startup has to be new, serve clientele that use non-banking financial services, should protect the consumer’s rights, be compatible with the Palestinian market and contributes to reinforcing financial inclusion. The entrepreneur should also be able to assess the risks involved in the idea and be able to be held responsible for them.

Thomas Rahhan of the GIZ, whom provided advice and research for the implementation of the Ebtakir platform, had this to tell Jerusalem24 “this is a platform so that Palestinian entrepreneurs, people with business ideas can actually use to approach and present their ideas and hopefully gain traction for them in the Palestinian market.” He continues to explain the idea, “is basically to provide a easy way to deal with the PCMA regulator for these entrepreneurs and these people with these Start-Up ideas to see if their ideas or their start-ups can measure up to the market needs.”

Dr. Bashar Abu Zarour, Fintech and Financial Director, is working on bring the PCMA’s services to modern times. speaking with Jerusalem24 he stated that “the strategy of the Capital Market Authority over the next five years is based on three main pillars, the most important of which is the promotion of the use of financial technology in the non-banking financial sectors supervised by the Authority.” Digitizing the services for the non-banking financial sector has become necessary as online shopping and businesses have become more popular with the Covid19 pandemic. “Its correct goal is to simply become an application for innovators who are usually in a market of sectors, and do not necessarily have full knowledge of the financial sector” he added.

The platform was launched during an online video conference in the presence of Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Ishtayyeh and other Palestinian officials. The conference cited the importance of financial technology and the main role that the Capital Market Authority plays in providing a friendly and enabling environment for financial technology-based innovations in the non-banking financial sector. In addition to the pivotal role of using financial technology in promoting financial inclusion in Palestine by providing new and innovative financing tools and instruments for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, by enhancing access and use of financial services and products provided by the capital market sectors in Palestine.