MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned football legend and global entrepreneur Louis Saha has joined Fintech Forward 2026's speaker lineup to showcase his unique perspective on leadership, reinvention, and building long-term, sustainable success. The region's flagship financial services forum will take place on 7-8 October 2026 at Exhibition World Bahrain, under the theme "Finance in the Age of Intelligent Infrastructure."
As a former Premier League and France international footballer, Saha has won the Champions League, two Premier League titles, a World Cup silver medal, and has represented some of Europe's most recognised clubs, including Manchester United, Everton, Fulham, and Tottenham Hotspur. Following a distinguished playing career, he transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding KiiMasters, a technology venture designed to transform influence into measurable positive action, and AxisStars, a private networking platform now valued at £4.3 billion that helps thousands of professional athletes navigate business, financial, and career development opportunities.
At FF26, Saha will participate in a fireside chat titled "From the Pitch to the Platform: Turning Experience into the Next Opportunity." The session will explore how personal experience can identify emerging gaps and catalyse solutions with the potential for broad, lasting impact, drawing on Saha's journey from sport to building world-class technology-enabled platforms.
Louis Saha said: "Throughout my career, both on and off the pitch, I've seen how access to the right networks, guidance, and opportunities is critical to ensure lasting success. I'm looking forward to visiting Bahrain and joining Fintech Forward 2026 to share my experiences on the importance of connection, discuss the challenges of reinvention, and explore how technology can help people better navigate important transitions in their lives and careers."
Hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) and supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority (BTEA), and Bahrain Fintech Bay, the event is programmed by Forbes Middle East. Fintech Forward 2026 brings together global thought leaders, innovators, investors, policymakers, and industry executives to examine the forces shaping the future of financial services. Through a programme of keynote sessions, panel discussions, fireside conversations, exhibitions, and strategic networking opportunities, Fintech Forward 2026 will provide a platform to build partnerships and explore opportunities emerging across the regional financial services and technology landscape.
Financial services is the largest contributor to Bahrain's economy, accounting for 17.6% of GDP in 2025. Building on over 100 years of experience as a regional financial hub, the island nation has developed a dynamic fintech ecosystem supported by deep sector expertise, a collaborative business environment, forward-looking regulations, and a highly skilled, future-proofed talent base. Bahrain was the first country in the region to introduce an onshore regulatory sandbox, open banking regulations, crypto-asset regulation, and, most recently, the GCC's first stablecoin framework, reflecting a long-standing approach to enabling innovation while supporting the responsible evolution of financial services.
For more details or to register interest in attending FF26, please visit the website.
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Manchester United Legend Louis Saha to Join Bahrain Fintech Forward 2026 Speaker Lineup
FRANKFURT, Germany and AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Creality today announces the launch of the multi-color 3D printer SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo, at a super early-bird price of $289 (MSRP $399) starting from Sept. 21. Designed for ultimate user experience, the SPARKX i8 features a single-toolhead, four-channel extrusion architecture that delivers fastest color printing, zero external purge waste, zero prime towers and CMYK full-color printing, bringing multi-color 3D printing to the next generation.
Fastest Four-Color Printing Powered by QuarTeks™
At the core of the SPARKX i8 is Creality's QuarTeks™ Color Change System. The new architecture integrates four independent filament channels into one compact toolhead. Unlike systems that require multiple toolheads or external filament swapping, the i8 pre-loads filaments directly into the quad-channel toolhead to make color changes more efficient.
Near the nozzle tip, QuarTeks™ is equipped with an ultra-short shared filament path of less than 1 mm, or approximately 2 mm³. It is at least 30 times shorter than other shared paths widely used in the market. Powered by the ultra-short path, the i8 is able to switch color channels in less than 1 second, as it significantly reduces filament retraction, feeding and purging. Thus, switching between colors is made as quick and effortless as clicking a four-color ballpoint pen.
With no need to swap toolheads, nozzles, or motion platforms, the i8 greatly enhances the printing efficiency and cuts production time by simplifying the color change mechanism. According to Creality's lab tests of building a four-color tower with 3,000 color switches, the i8 completed the test in around 18 hours, 500% faster than printers with an external feed system.
Zero External Purge Waste
The QuarTeks™ is also built for reducing material waste. The less-than-1-mm shared filament path minimizes the amount of purge waste. Under optimal slicing settings, color transitions can be flushed directly into the model's infill or inner walls, bringing external purge waste down to 0 g*.
*0 g: No external purging during printing. Only a small amount of filament is flushed at the start.
Zero Prime Towers
SPARKX i8 eliminates prime towers by shifting color-change travel into the model's infill paths, without the need to print a separate tower for each color change. This significantly cuts color-transition time under prime-tower-free settings. Meanwhile, a dedicated clean wall isolates infill colors to keep model surfaces impeccable.
CMYK Full-Color Printing
SPARKX i8 also supports full-spectrum layered color printing, capable of creating richer ranges of colors by combining and mixing four base-color filaments across different layers. The layered color mixing* forms intermediate tones, gradients, and variations in brightness through different layer thicknesses and mixing sequences. With just four filament colors, the i8 can produce 16 or even 32 color combinations in a single print, unlocking unlimited possibilities of creations.
*Layered color mixing is not equivalent to precise color matching and cannot perfectly reproduce all specified colors.
AI-Assisted Monitoring
The 13 sensors built into the printhead with AI vision camera monitor four filament channels, switching mechanisms, and key printing statuses, detecting issues in real time such as an empty spool, filament runout, and air printing for faster troubleshooting. In addition, the standalone i8 features automatic filament refill, which allows up to four loaded spools of the same material at once and automatically switches to another when one runs out, enabling larger and more continuous prints.
Crowdfunding Availability & Best Price Ever
Now is the time to get the SPARKX i8 at its best available price by backing the crowdfunding campaign starting from Sept. 21.
Key sales information includes:
- Crowdfunding page link: www.indiegogo.com
- Super early-bird price: $289, with very limited availability, increasing to $399 when super early-bird slots are sold out.
- Free shipping and taxes: The 1,000 backers who order in the first 24 hours will receive a full refund of shipping and taxes, up to $50, after the campaign. The offer is limited to one i8 per backer.
- Shipping time: Orders are scheduled to ship from factories in October, with delivery expected in November, varying by region and local logistics during the Q4 peak season.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing
Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing
Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing
Creality Launches SPARKX i8 on Indiegogo at $289, Bringing Fastest, No-Purge-Waste Printing
