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Mastercard Lighthouse UAE
Mastercard Lighthouse UAE, as part of the Mastercard UAE AI Center of Excellence in collaboration with the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office, aims to elevate the UAE AI startup ecosystem to the global stage. Our mission is to connect startups with leading players across finance, commerce and technology, accelerating growth through strategic partnerships, mentorship and access to Mastercard's global expertise and network.
Join us to tap into a powerful ecosystem, scale innovation and help shape a dynamic, future-ready startup community in the UAE.
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Mastercard Lighthouse Türkiye x EBRD Star Venture: Stratejik İş Birliği Başlıyor
İş birliği kapsamında seçilen girişimler, 3 ay sürecek Mastercard Lighthouse Türkiye müfredatının ardından 15 aya kadar sürecek EBRD Star Venture müfredatıyla devam ederek toplamda 18 aya varan kapsamlı desteklerden faydalanıyor
Customer & Business Partner Touchpoints
Dedicated 1-1 meetings with financial institutions and fintech partners
Executive Exposure & Expert Mentors
Dedicated Mastercard strategic mentors for each startup and meetups with sector executives during program selection, final jury presentations and program events
Investor Touchpoints
Dedicated 1-1 meetings with potential VC & angel investors
Program Support Partners
Program partners to support based on the needs of the startups in early stage
Mastercard-provided sandbox support and start path
Mastercard Global Assets and Channels
Exposure to global Mastercard platforms and assets
Start Path Sandbox as a Service
Training & Workshops
Training sessions tailored to the general & identified needs of startups and fireside chats
Program Details
Who can apply to the Mastercard Lighthouse UAE program?
Maturity:
Early seed & above investment rounds
Product Phase:
Commercially live (partnership ready) product
People:
Dedicated & structured teams
Geography:
Startups operating in the UAE or planning to expand into the UAE market
Which verticals does Mastercard Lighthouse
UAE program target?
Verticals targeting financial services and ready for partnership
Agentic Commerce & Personalization
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AI-Powered Personalized Banking
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Open Banking and APIs
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Real-Time Payments and Digital Wallets
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Hyper Personalized Commerce Experiences
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Trust, Governance & Safety in Agentic Commerce
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Merchant & Platform Enablement for Agentic Commerce
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Cross Domain & B2B Agentic Commerce
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Model Risk & Explainability
Validating and back-testing financial models using AI to ensure their accuracy and reliability. -
Liquidity & Market Risk
Analyzing transaction data using AI to assess the liquidity position of financial institutions and predict future liquidity requirements. -
Cybersecurity Risk
Employing AI models to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats, such as phishing attacks, malware, and unauthorized access. -
Identity & Trust
Using AI to establish verifiable, secure, and privacy-preserving digital identities that underpin trust, resilience, and risk mitigation across financial and commerce ecosystems. -
Regulatory & Compliance Risk
Leveraging AI to develop RegTech solutions that help financial institutions comply with regulatory requirements, such as anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. -
Operational Excellence & Resilience
Implementing AI solutions to strengthen financial institutions from the inside out
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AI-Powered Personalized Banking
Using AI-driven tools to analyze customers' spending patterns and financial behavior to provide services like personalized advice, budgeting assistance, automated savings plans, etc. -
Open Banking and APIs
Leveraging AI to foster innovation and expanding service offerings in Open Banking space. -
Real-Time Payments and Digital Wallets
Enabling real-time payment systems for instantaneous fund transfers between accounts, improving cash flow management for both individuals and businesses. -
Hyper Personalized Commerce Experiences
Deep, real-time personalization across the entire commerce journey. -
Trust, Governance & Safety in Agentic Commerce
Ensuring agentic commerce marketplace is safe, transparent, and controllable. -
Merchant & Platform Enablement for Agentic Commerce
Helping merchants and platforms become “agent-ready ”. -
Cross Domain & B2B Agentic Commerce
Agentic commerce beyond retail into enterprise and B2B flows.
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Enterprise Fintech Solutions
AI solutions modernizing core financial systems, enterprise workflows, and large scale platforms. -
Sustainable & Inclusive FinTech
AI enabling broader access, affordability, and sustainability in services. -
Blockchain, Crypto & Digital Assets (AI Enhanced)
AI improving trust, scalability, regulatory compliance, and decision intelligence across decentralized finance, stablecoins, and digital asset platforms. -
AI Driven Payments & Commerce FinTech
Intelligent systems optimizing domestic and cross-border money movement across consumers, merchants, and financial ecosystems. -
Financial Inclusion
Creating alternative credit systems based on alternative data such as social media activity and utility payments, assessing creditworthiness, and offering financial services to businesses with little or no credit history.
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Lending and Credit
Using AI to analyze customer data (e.g., credit history, income, employment) to predict the likelihood of default and determine credit worthiness scores. -
Collections & Credit Lifecycle Management
Managing the full MSME credit lifecycle using AI. -
MSME Growth, Trade & Ecosystem Financing
AI solutions supporting MSME expansion beyond basic lending.
Application Process and Program Flow
Mastercard Lighthouse UAE Program Partners
Alumni
Support and inspirational experiences throughout the program
Stay tuned for more details and register for Mastercard Lighthouse UAE Program information webinar.
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