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October 21st, 2023 Africa’s Weekly Fintech Review What’s inside? • Zimbabwe launches gold-backed digital […]
October 14th, 2023 Africa’s Weekly Fintech Review What’s inside? • Kigali & Qatar financial […]
Join Briter Bridges, a data-driven research firm, for an informative session on the African fintech investment landscape. You will hear from Dario Giuliani, the founder, and director of Briter Bridges, on the key players, sectors, and markets that are shaping the future of digital financial services in Africa. Whether you are an investor, a founder, or a curious observer, this session will provide you with valuable knowledge and data to help you navigate the African fintech landscape better.
The Tech for Trade Alliance is a new initiative that aims to boost the digital economy in Africa. It was announced by Prosper Africa, a U.S. Government program that supports trade and investment between the U.S. and African countries, at the 2023 Africa Fintech Summit in Washington, DC. The alliance brings together leading U.S. and African companies from various sectors, such as e-commerce, logistics, payments, and technology, to collaborate on enhancing the digital infrastructure, skills, and policies in Africa. The alliance will help African businesses and consumers access more opportunities in the global market, increase their competitiveness and innovation, and create more jobs and income in the continent. The Tech for Trade Alliance is part of the U.S. Government’s efforts to strengthen its partnership with Africa in the digital era.
While payment companies continue to be the most funded sub-sector of fintech in Africa, new sub-sectors of fintech are beginning to gain significant traction and one of the most vast and ripe for potential sub-sectors is neobanking. As the population of Africa continues to increase, more and more individuals are looking for tech solutions that enable them to easily save, withdraw, invest, and conduct other common transactions. This conversation invites some of the most exciting innovators in Africa’s digital identity, payments & neobanking space to discuss the recent trends and the future of digital banking and payments in Africa.
The last 12 months have been characterized by some as a “VC Deep Freeze” where global venture investment has significantly decreased on average by 35%. Africa has avoided much of this drought with 2022 witnessing an 8% increase in VC funding compared to 2021. What are the trends and expectations for Africa’s fintech industry in 2023? How are investors deploying capital in the continent today? How are recent developments in banking affecting access to liquidity for both investors and their portfolio companies? What actions are being taken to mitigate risk? This session will bring together venture investors from different backgrounds and stages to gain a better understanding of what we can expect for Africa’s fintech industry this year.
October 2022 saw the inaugural shipment of goods from Kenya to Ghana under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) since the agreement’s 2021 launch. The AfCFTA is paving the way for African countries to trade with each other under preferential terms and in step towards building ‘One African Market’. There is unparalleled market opportunity for cross border traders and the financial institutions powering their transactions. The commercial launch of the Pan-African Payment & Settlement Systems (PAPSS) is making it possible to trade across currencies and borders seamlessly with continent wide settlement infrastructure. In this panel, we will hear from experts in facilitating trade and transactions across the continent including e-government services, logistics & deeptech, e-commerce executives and regulators/enablers.
Emerging markets across the globe generally have a large unbanked population; despite significant leaps in fintech innovation, empowering financial inclusion remains a challenge. In addition to innovation capital, financial inclusion continues to be hindered by deficient market infrastructure, restrictive policy and regulatory environments, and a host of other factors. DFIs are stepping up to the plate and resolving these barriers to financial inclusion at both a macro and micro level. This panel brings seasoned experts in the development finance space together to provide insights into how DFI’s are comfortably growing their risk appetites by supporting venture funds and fintech entrepreneurs as they support the continued mission of global financial inclusion and facilitating the further development of African markets.
The African Diaspora sent over $53B USD in remittances last year despite the continued headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic slowdown, and inflationary pressure. The movement of money across borders and the utilization of multiple currencies while also remaining in compliance with numerous regulatory requirements is not an easy feat. The utilization of financial technology in banking, payments, and remittances is helping alleviate the headache of global money movement. Revolutionary functionality like instant bank-to-wallet, wallet-to-wallet, and blockchain services are changing how Africans move money. This panel brings technologists and operators together to discuss how they are actively solving friction points in the cross-border movement of money and remittances.
Africa, a continent home to 1.4 billion people with a median age of 19, is ripe for continued fintech evolution as 57% of the population remains unbanked. 62% of the capital powering African fintechs in 2021 came from US investors and this trend is projected to continue increasing as investors seek to increase financial inclusion. This panel brings together thought leaders and stakeholders from leading African fintechs, US-based investors actively mobilizing capital in the sector, tech companies scaling on the continent, global fintech policymakers, and ecosystem enablers to discuss the current state of the fintech relationship between Africa and the United States.
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