By: Samantha Chiew
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) jointly announced that they will be organising the inaugural Afro-Asia FinTech Festival. The first of its kind event will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from July 15-16, 2019. It will provide a platform for connections, collaborations and exchange of ideas between Africa and Asia, as well as further boost the FinTech ecosystems in the two regions.
Dubbed “FinTech in the Savannah”, the theme of this year’s festival is “Sustainable Finance: Inclusive and Green”. The festival 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”, which discusses issues in artificial intelligence (AI) and big data; cybersecurity, technology risks and RegTech; “Social Impact”, which looks at impact investing as well as micro, small and medium enterprise financing; and
“Spirit of Innovation”, which explores the evolution of mobile financial services, InsurTech and Digital Pension.
Meanwhile, the exhibition will showcase a marketplace of ideas and innovative solutions from some of the best technology firms and FinTech players from Africa and Asia. Patrick Njoroge, governor of CBK, says, “CBK is honoured to partner MAS in Co-creation a unique platform for policy-makers, technology entrepreneurs, financial industry leaders and other players to come together and tap their diverse knowledge and experiences. 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.”
Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS says, “Some of the most exciting developments in technology-enabled financial inclusion are happening in Africa and Asia. The central banks of Kenya and Singapore share a vision to build an Afro-Asia platform to synergise efforts in FinTech innovation. 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.”
Source: The Edge Singapore