Highlights of the Africa Fintech Summit Washington DC
The Africa Fintech Summit held in Washington DC on April 19,2018. The summit successfully brought together business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors across Africa and the US. During the panel discussions, thought leaders engaged in insightful conversations on disrupting the fintech ecosystem, the role of government in promoting innovation and financial inclusion, the revolution of remittances, innovative funding structures, blockchain for Africa, and much more.
The summit was organized by Dedalus Global, a boutique investment consultancy focused on emerging markets and technologies.
Some highlights of panel discussions are presented below.
Panel discussion on Innovative Fund Structures
The panel was moderated by Steven Grin, Managing Partner, Lateral Capital.
Eghosa Omoigui of EchoVC Partners discuss why differentiation is important in VC funding in Africa
Moe Odele of Stratigos discuss impact investing in Africa
Bunmi Akinyemiju of Venture Garden Group discuss attractive investment destinations in Africa
Panel discussion on Innovation and Inclusion in Africa
The panel was moderated by Aubrey Hruby, a Senior Africa Fellow of the Atlantic Council and founder of the Africa Expert Network.
Temitope Akin-Fadeyi of the Central Bank of Nigeria discuss the Nigerian government's effort in promoting financial inclusion by encouraging collaboration between government agencies like the CBN and NCC.
Mark Pickens of Visa discuss collaboration between financial institutions in the ecosystem to promote inclusion
Panel discussion on Blockchain for Africa.
The panel was moderated by Akin Sawyerr of RocRemit.
Dr. Andrew S. Nevin of PwC Nigeria discuss the usefulness of blockchain technology in allocation of property rights.
Richard Jones of JoneStar Technology discuss the use of blockchain technology in Somalia to promote transparency in the budgeting process and good governance through the use of smart contracts.
Vanessa Grellet of ConsenSys discuss the use of blockchain technology to promote financial inclusion.
Awards
The high point of the summit was the presentation of awards to influencers within the space. The following awardees are worthy of mention.
Financial inclusion award: The Central Bank of Nigeria “CBN” received this award for its initiative in driving financial inclusion in Nigeria. The award was presented to Temitope Akin-Fadeyi who heads the CBN’s Financial Inclusion Secretariat.
Most innovative lending platform award: Ovamba received this award for addressing funding challenges amongst African SMEs in innovative ways. Through its proprietary risk model Ovamba enables African SMEs access short term funding. The award was presented to Marvin Cole, the Founder and Global CEO of Ovamba.
Innovator Award: the award was received by Tayo Oviosu of Paga. Tayo Oviosu founded Paga, a platform which has a nationwide network of agents- mom and pop shops where consumers can get access to financial services. With approximately 8.2 million customers, 15 thousand agents, and 6 thousand businesses, Paga’s population reach is bigger than some African countries. Tayo Oviosu is also committed to mentoring Fintech start-ups in various African countries.
Start-up Award: Binkabi won this award. Binkabi is a dynamic start-up utilizing blockchain to drive innovation in trading in agro commodities. The award was presented to Dr. Andrew S. Nevin who is a Co-founder and Chief Economist of Binkabi.
Best Research Platform Award: Asoko Insights received this award for its innovative research platform which provides due diligence information on unlisted African companies.
Best Digital Bank: ALAT by WEMA received this award for bringing innovation into the banking sector which saw the emergence of Africa’s truly digital bank. The award was presented to Dele Adeyinka (Chief Digital Officer), Abimbola Agbejule (Head of Commercial) and Peter Daniels (Scrum Master/Agile Coach) who are the driving forces behind ALAT by WEMA.
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