Together with Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will be organising the inaugural Afro-Asia FinTech Festival, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from July 15-16, 2019.
The first of its kind globally, the festival will provide a platform for connections, collaborations and exchange of ideas between Africa and Asia. It will also further boost the FinTech ecosystems in the two regions, according to a press release on Tuesday, May 7.
Dubbed “FinTech in the Savannah”, the theme of the festival is “Sustainable Finance: Inclusive and Green”. It will explore financial services innovations from emerging Afro-Asian markets that can transform legacy systems, and bring about lasting environmental and social benefits for citizens and society.
The two-day summit consists of a FinTech Conference, FinTech Exhibition and breakout sessions for deep-dives into the applications of these ideas with industry.
The Conference will see robust discussions around three key topics. 'Technology for Tomorrow' will discuss issues in artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, cybersecurity, technology risks and RegTech. 'Social Impact' looks at impact investing as well as micro, small and medium enterprise financing. Lastly, “Spirit of Innovation” explores the evolution of mobile financial services, InsurTech and Digital Pension.
Participants can also look forward to a vibrant marketplace of ideas and innovative solutions at the FinTech Exhibition which features some of the best technology firms and FinTech players from Africa and Asia.
“Some of the most exciting developments in technology-enabled financial inclusion are happening in Africa and Asia," said Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS. "With Kenya and Singapore as the starting points, we hope to bring our two regions closer together to innovate and make financial services more accessible and affordable for our people.”
Dr Patrick Njoroge, Governor, CBK, added, “Cross-border cooperation is increasingly important as global problems cannot be resolved in isolation. We need to come together as a global community to learn from each other and co-create solutions that will improve the lives of our people.”