Africa's Weekly Fintech Review - AFTSLusaka Special Edition

Africa’s Weekly Fintech Review – AFTSLusaka Special Edition

November 16th, 2023

What took place in Lusaka?

Good morning,

Last week’s 10th Africa Fintech Summit in Lusaka, Zambia (Nov. 1-3) was a tremendous success. Welcoming 600+ in-person delegates representing all stakeholder groups and geographies in addition to 1,000+ virtual delegates, AFTSLusaka made waves.

As Honorable Felix Mutati stated in his impassioned keynote on Nov. 2nd:

“This is Africa’s moment – Africa’s opportunity – Africa’s time. This is the digital time where we can use digital transformation to create jobs, change lives, and for our continent to say ‘Never Again’ shall we stand and be spectators. We are going to be The Players in the digital world.”

AFTS is not just any other “tech” event in Africa; AFTS is truly a guiding force for the future of the African financial technology ecosystem. We don’t host a summit and then disappear from the continent and ecosystem for months each year. AFTS lives in Africa, our team works in fintech, investment & regulatory affairs, and this is why unlike other “summits,” it is important that the momentum does not stop.

After thousands of conversations, 13 panels, 2 keynote addresses, a few fire side chats, and some informal debates by the Ciela Resort pool, our team has put together a list with some of the tangible outcomes delegates can help put into action to advance Africa’s fintech industry:

Without advancements in infrastructure, mobile affordability and availability, and financial literacy, fintech will struggle to impact ALL portions of the population
Fintech is no longer just about payments and banking – fintech is in every industry
For mobile money to truly penetrate certain African markets, regulators should consider forcing the issue of interoperability
While cryptocurrency is not as popular a conversation as it used to be, its use cases across Africa remain well intact

Check out below for more insights on what took place at AFTSLusaka!

#AFTSLusaka Highlights Reel

AFTSLusaka Overview

Hon. Felix Mutati announces the launch of first mobile phone manufacturing plant in Zambia
During his opening keynote address, Zambia’s Minister of Technology & Science announces the first mobile phone manufacturing plant in Zambia aimed at driving digital transformation and make mobiles more affordable across the country.
Read about it on TechCabal.

AFTS VIP Dinner headlined with welcome from Deputy Mission Head from Embassy of the USA
Welcoming AFTS’ speakers, sponsors, & partners on the evening of Nov. 1st poolside at Ciela Resort, Deputy Chief of Mission Linnisa Wahid gave remarks emphasizing the role digital transformation is playing across Zambia to drive forward financial inclusion and sustainable economic development.

Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya delivers keynote address
Speaking on the role of regulators to enable fintech development, Dr. Denny Kalyalya focused on how BOZ works together with private sector players to better ensure an enabling environment for the advancement of fintech.

Exhibitors showcase their products, portfolio startups & services in Zambia’s highest-quality startup exhibition of the year
With 31 physical exhibitors and over 60 exhibitors on the AFTS virtual platform, both in-person and virtual delegates had over 25,000 engagements with exhibitors over the course of 2-days.

2 workshop sessions offer tailored experience
Two workshops were hosted on Nov. 2nd with the first being hosted by Multigate titled, “An ecosystem approach for cross-border payments in and out of Africa,” with the second workshop hosted by MDP titled, “Lessons learned from enabling fintech payment solutions across Africa.”

Founders Factory Africa hosts first-ever live edition of its ‘African Pre-Seed Podcast’
Inviting delegates and speakers to this open-forum like podcast recording, Founders Factory Africa brought everyone into the conversation around fintech’s role across all industries on Nov. 2nd. Featured speakers: Hope Ditlhakanyane, Michael Kimani, Efayomi Carr, & Miranda Perumal.

USAID Zambia’s Deputy Mission Director welcomes delegates to AlphaExpo Competition
Robin Sharma discussed the work USAID is doing in Zambia to support entrepreneurs and startups. With USAID’s support of this year’s AlphaExpo, AFTS was enabled to offer cohort participants with complimentary exhibition space, curated pitch practice, and a pitch competition with over 350 delegates tuning in.

Zambia’s Save & Remit takes 1st place at AlphaExpo Competition (Sponsored by USAID)
This year’s AlphaExpo featured 15 startups including 7 from Zambia, 2 from Nigeria, 3 from Kenya, 1 from South Africa, 1 from Namibia & 1 from Uganda. Nigeria’s TradeLenda and Uganda’s aXion Zorn took 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Read about it on TechCabal.

Founders & Financiers Happy Hour on Nov. 2nd welcomes hundreds of delegates
Sponsored by Aella, AFTS’ Founders & Financiers Happy Hour was opened by Akin Jones, Aella’s Co-Founder & CEO. Bringing together founders and investors for the evening, the happy hour was ripe with conversation and debate following a long day of panels, keynotes, and exhibition.

AFTS Ecosystem Tour makes four stops across Lusaka on Friday, November 3rd
A close tradition of AFTS, this year’s ecosystem tour stopped by several digital and fintech leaders in Zambia after Nov. 2nd’s summit including PremierCredit Head Office, Paratus Zambia Data Center, Liquid Intelligent Technologies Cybersecurity Office, & ABSA Zambia New Offices

AFTS announces that its 11th edition will take place in NAIROBI, KENYA in Q4 of 2024 – date & venue to be announced in January 2024
After hosting AFTS in Washington, DC, Lagos, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, & Lusaka, AFTS is excited to be heading to the Silicon Savannah for its 11th edition.
Read about it on TechCabal.