The new sub-region established in the Central Eastern Europe and the Middle East Africa (CEMEA) market is a significant move by Visa as the firm doubles-down on digital payments growth in the GCC specifically the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Visa also announced new executive leadership following the move under Fadi Moukaddem, the Senior Vice President, and now Group Country Manager for the three GCC states.
CEMEA is a Tech-Driven Market
Up to 74% of consumers in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) plan to use digital payments more in the next 12 months according to Visa’s primary research.
This makes the CEMEA region critical to the CEMEA demographics, particularly under 35s, as a targeted audience for Visa’s growth potential.
The GCC is adopting fintech at a accelerated rate, whilst Africa’s population is primarily youthful with enormous digital capacity to scale-up in emerging markets.
The CEE has always been a hub of IT-led entrepreneurship, especially Poland and the Baltics, with leading STEM education whilst granting firms like Visa cost-effective access to the EU single market without high operating costs.
In fact, Poland has one of the highest rates of female STEM graduates behind the U.S. and China.
CEMEA C-Suite Leadership
Visa has appointed Fadi Moukaddem as the Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the new sub-region.
Moukaddem has served as Regional CFO across 87 markets in CEMEA, bringing extensive experience working with financial institutions, regulators, and ecosystem partners.
Before Visa, Moukaddem held senior roles at PepsiCo International and Nokia networks. He is expected to lead Visa’s strategy, partnerships, and operations across the three markets supporting digital transformation and innovation.
Importance of CEMEA
The GCC is a critical market for Visa and the CEMEA because of fintech development and adoption.
Fadi Moukaddem, the Group Country Manager for UAE, Kuwait, and the UAE, said: “Having lived and worked in all three markets, I know first hand the strength of our partnerships and the momentum driving the Gulf’s digital economy.”
Visa’s CEMEA regional headquarters and Innovation Centre is located in the UAE, whilst strong digital tokenisation and e-Commerce innovation is taking hold in Kuwait and Qatar.
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