Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Canada Expanding Economic Ties With UAE India And Africa
Economy and Trade | Nov 24, 2025
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Canada Strengthens Global Trade and Investment Partnerships to Diversify Markets
On November 23 2025, Canada announced a raft of cross-border trade partnerships after Prime Minister Carney spent the past week securing commitments in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and India as part of a wider push to reduce reliance on the United States and expand global economic partnerships. These new openings create opportunities for Canadian fintechs and the wider innovation economy.
Carney used the G20 forum to reinforce Canada’s broader diversification strategy, pointing to U.S. tariffs and market uncertainty as direct pressures on Canadian growth, costing Canada an estimated 1.8% of GDP or the the equivalent of $50 billion or $1300 per individual. The PM's strategy aims to double exports to non-U.S. markets over the next decade, using new investment frameworks and economic partnerships to anchor that growth.
See: Africa’s Fintech Bridge Is Open for Investment
The strategy is aligned with NCFA's own cross-border initiatives to foster education, partnerships, and build economic and investment opportunities for regional fintech networks, which now sits directly on top of new trade corridors Canada is formally building. A couple of recent examples alone are NFCA Canada's collaboration with the 2025 Canada-Africa-Fintech-Summit, as well as an educational partnership with TheBlock, a Dubai-based virtual assets association, to focus on tokenization and real world assets (RWA) education.
UAE Investment Deal Opens Major Capital Channel
On November 21 2025, during a visit to Abu Dhabi, Canada signed a new Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. The UAE also signalled plans to invest up to approx $70 billion CAD (US$50 billion) in Canadian projects focused on artificial intelligence, clean energy, mining and infrastructure, according to the government’s UAE investment announcement.
The two countries also launched negotiations toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which would cover services, goods and digital trade and give Canadian firms a more stable foothold in Gulf markets.
South Africa Talks Establish An African Growth Bridge
On November 23 2025, at the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg, Canada announced new investment-protection talks with South Africa and confirmed the completed Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. These developments were highlighted in the government’s South Africa investment readout.
See: Budget 2025 Accelerates Fintech, AI, and Capital Growth
Canada also confirmed that FinDev Canada will open a Cape Town office in 2026, expanding its financing presence in African markets where digital financial services and early-stage business activity continue to grow.
India And Canada Restart CEPA Negotiations
Canada and India agreed to restart talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement after a two-year pause. This decision was confirmed in the India–Canada CEPA update issued during the G20 meetings.
Both governments signalled interest in expanding trade through improved access in goods, services, investment and digital sectors, with a a longer term goal of increasing two-way trade toward the US$50–70 billion range by 2030 depending on final terms.
What This Means For Fintech
These agreements, while they don't specifically mention fintech directly, they will impact the trading environment and structural conditions that matter for financial technology and funding innovation firms in the following ways:
More global capital in play. The UAE’s multibillion-dollar investment envelope creates new demand for financing platforms, risk systems, payments infrastructure and digital tools that support large scaling AI, energy and infrastructure projects.
See: Fintech Grows 3x Faster, 97% of Market Still Untapped
New markets with strong digital finance adoption and upside. South Africa and broader African regions continue to scale mobile money, SME finance and digital identity rails. India remains one of the world’s largest digital payments ecosystems. Canadian fintechs offering compliance, embedded finance, alternative credit, and capital formation tools can explore more predictable and supported entry routes.
Trade agreements that impact digital rules. Investment treaties and CEPAs often influence data standards, dispute resolution, digital services access and treatment of financial technologies. Early engagement ensures fintech and alternative finance models are not overshadowed by incumbent only positions.
Outlook
NCFA encourages fintech founders, investors and innovators to take advantage of these expanding global routes. Connect with us to discuss Africa and UAE partnerships, participate in upcoming trade related roundtables, and support policy and outreach work, as Canada negotiates new digital trade and investment frameworks. These government agreements create real openings, and NCFA’s global bridge network is ready to help Canadian fintechs move into these markets.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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