Where Finance Meets Its Future: Bahrain's 60-Deal Moment

**MANAMA, Bahrain** – Picture a room where banks, tech giants, and regulators actually finish their handshakes. That's what happened at Fintech Forward 2026 (FF26), which wrapped up at Exhibition World Bahrain. More than 2,900 participants showed up, and the fourth edition delivered over 60 MoUs, strategic agreements, and announcements.

Announcements and signings jumped 65% this year, and the forum also welcomed its largest group of sponsors and exhibitors yet. Clearly, the industry is leaning in.

Moreover, several deals grew from connections made at FF25. Bahrain's Team Bahrain approach, a public-private partnership model, turns conversations into lasting momentum.

BBK showcased a Google Cloud Universal Ledger pilot, built with ARRAY Innovation, a Mumtalakat portfolio company. It explores tokenized payments and programmable settlement.

Meanwhile, Beyon and barq Group announced an agreement to merge Beyon Money's operations with barq's fintech platform. BENEFIT also named NBB as anchor bank for its Trade Finance Registry pilot, developed with MonetaGo and Bahrain FinTech Bay. In addition, BENEFIT and Huawei signed an MoU on AI and digital infrastructure.

The debut Tech Talent Hub, featuring Citi, J.P. Morgan, and KPMG, highlighted Bahraini professionals serving global clients. Likewise, Beyon Connect unveiled an AML Referral Programme with AMAN Compliance Solutions as its first partner.

Financial and insurance activities made up 17.6% of Bahrain's real GDP in 2025. Therefore, a forum like this does more than generate headlines; it strengthens the Kingdom's economic backbone.

Hosted by Bahrain EDB and programmed by Forbes Middle East, FF26 ran under the theme "Finance in the Age of Intelligent Infrastructure." Judging by the results, that future has already started.

Clean Engines, Clear Skies: AeroCore Touches Down in Riyadh

AeroCore Technologies, inventor of Nucleated Foam Technology™ aircraft engine cleaning, has opened its Middle East regional headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It's a big move for airlines across the Kingdom and the GCC, so let's break it down.

The new headquarters will house regional leadership, engineering, technician training, and equipment support. As a result, service teams will sit much closer to customers, supporting Saudi Vision 2030.

In other words, help is now right around the corner instead of an ocean away.

Heat, humidity, dust, and sand are tough on aircraft engines. Gas path fouling erodes exhaust gas temperature (EGT) margin, increases fuel burn, and pressures time on wing. Consequently, operators are seeing accelerated engine removals and need a better on-wing cleaning solution.

AeroCore's patented technology is field-proven across thousands of washes on U.S. military aircraft. Better yet, it cleans the full engine gas path planeside in about an hour, with no disassembly or towing. Teams can wash multiple engines at once, and all effluent is captured for environmentally responsible disposal.

Because it fits into overnight maintenance or planned ground time, it slots neatly into a data-driven engine wash program.

So what's the payoff? Commercial programs have reported EGT margin recovery of roughly 4–10°C beyond legacy wash methods. Additionally, they've seen fuel burn reductions of 0.5–1.5% and time-on-wing extensions of up to 1,500 cycles.

The technology is validated on aircraft families widely flown across the GCC, including the Airbus A320, A321, A330, and A350, plus the Boeing 737 NG and MAX, 777, and 787.

Captain Fahd Cynndy, Board Member at AeroCore Technologies, put it well: "Saudi Arabia and the GCC are building one of the world's most ambitious aviation markets, and that growth needs solutions that improve availability, extend time on wing and build local capability."

Ultimately, AeroCore's Riyadh headquarters brings that capability closer to operators, right on their ramps and around their schedules.

Rocks, Riyals, and Roundtables: Riyadh's Mineral Party Is Back

**RIYADH, Saudi Arabia** is gearing up for something big. The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced that the sixth Future Minerals Forum (FMF) will run from 12–14 January 2027. It takes place under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, with the theme "Global Collaboration for Resilient Mineral Supply."

The fifth edition drew 21,500 participants from 175 countries. Moreover, delegates signed 132 agreements and MoUs worth over USD 26.7 billion. Altogether, five editions have produced 398 deals valued at more than USD 75.2 billion.

This year, organizers will focus on mobilizing finance and speeding up project development. Furthermore, they aim to help emerging suppliers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The government-led Ministerial Roundtable will headline the event. Meanwhile, "Gateway to Funding" will connect investors with scalable projects.

The Kingdom's mining sector has grown right alongside the Forum. Exploration spending jumped from USD 54.7 million in 2020 to USD 362.7 million in 2025. Likewise, active exploration companies climbed from six to 191.

Additionally, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announced that Jabal Sayid holds an estimated 114 million tons of rare earth ore.

FMF 2027 will issue a global call to diversify mineral supply. Therefore, start planning now. Visit futuremineralsforum.com to register.