The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced the inaugural Afro-Asia FinTech Festival, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 16 July 2019. Jointly organised by the two central banks, the Festival – the first of its kind globally – 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.
2. Dubbed “FinTech in the Savannah”, the theme of the 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.
3. The two-day Summit consists of a FinTech Conference, FinTech Exhibition and break-out 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 investing1 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.
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.
4. Dr Patrick Njoroge, Governor, CBK said, “CBK is honoured to partner MAS in co-creating 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.”
5. Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said, “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.”
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Additional information
The Afro-Asia FinTech Festival is modelled after the Singapore FinTech Festival, the world’s largest FinTech event and global knowledge platform held in Singapore every November. The best ideas from the Savannah will also be showcased at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2019, to show the progress that both continents are making in advancing financial services innovation.
