Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 Draws 35,000 Attendees And Global Finance Leaders

Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025 drew more than 35,000 participants for a packed week of debates, announcements, and deal-making that strengthened Abu Dhabi’s status as a global financial hub. Over 30 percent of attendees came from overseas, reflecting broad international interest in the emirate’s financial agenda.

For the first time, assets represented at ADFW exceeded US$62 trillion, equal to 53 percent of global GDP. Capital leaders, regulators, investors, and innovators gathered in Abu Dhabi to debate the direction of global finance and highlight the emirate’s growing role in international capital flows.

The inaugural Financial Centres Competitiveness Index (FCCI), released during ADFW by the Stern School of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi (Stern at NYUAD), positioned Abu Dhabi as the leading financial centre in the Middle East and North Africa and 12th worldwide. The index outcome supported ADFW’s focus on long-term competitive strength.

Across the week, ADFW hosted 68 events and 394 specialised sessions, featuring 819 speakers from around the world. Participants from 175 nationalities attended, while more than 69 global and regional partners backed the programme, including Hanwha as Strategic Partner, underscoring Abu Dhabi’s connectivity with diverse financial markets.

Commenting on ADFW’s latest edition, Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said, "ADFW has been recognised as one of the world’s most influential financial gatherings. This record-breaking edition demonstrated Abu Dhabi’s ability to convene global capital at a meaningful scale, with decision makers representing more than $62 trillion in assets coming together to shape the future of finance. "As the 'Capital of Capital,' Abu Dhabi is not only hosting global financial dialogue but actively engineering the architecture that will define the next decade of global growth," he said.

During the run-up to, and throughout, this fourth and largest edition of ADFW, ADGM welcomed 11 major international financial institutions. These firms collectively manage more than $9 trillion in assets under management, signalling growing confidence in Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem and its regulatory and business framework.

Abu Dhabi Finance Week innovation, philanthropy, and urban expansion

A high-level gathering organised by the Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) Foundation for Humanity, and held during ADFW, produced a $1.9 billion global pledge to eradicate polio. The event featured Bill Gates alongside international, regional, and local donors, linking Abu Dhabi’s financial influence with global health efforts.

The week also introduced the FinTech, Insurance, Digital and Alternative Assets (FIDA) cluster, led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and Abu Dhabi Investment Office. The initiative aims to speed up innovation and economic diversification in priority sectors, aligning with Abu Dhabi’s broader development strategies and its focus on new asset classes.

Urban development plans tied to Abu Dhabi’s financial ambitions advanced as Mubadala and Aldar revealed a AED60 billion (around $16.34 billion) joint venture. The project will expand the ADGM district on Al Maryah Island by 1.5 million square metres, strengthening the area as an international business and lifestyle destination.

Institutional cooperation also deepened during ADFW 2025, with 82 Memorandums of Understanding and strategic collaborations signed among global, regional, and local entities. The next edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week is scheduled for 7th to 10th December 2026, building on 2025 outcomes and reinforcing ADFW’s role as the region’s main global financial gathering.

With inputs from WAM