The Africa Fintech Summit team is happy to announce that AFTSDC2022 hosted on April 21st, 2022 in Washington, D.C. - was an outstanding success!
As we continue to witness 'the Africanization of Global Fintech,' the conversations at the summit both on-stage and off revolved around the spirit of collaboration and partnership. Despite some negative press about the ecosystem recently, one thing remains certain - Africa's fintech ecosystem is strong and shows no signs of slowing down!
For those of you who attended this year's Africa Fintech Summit, whether in-person or online, thank you for your support! We look forward to seeing you again in Cape Town this November.
Best, The Africa Fintech Summit Team (Leland, Zekarias, Andrew, Sarah, Charles, Lynsey, Cece, & Stella)
The AFTS Team would like to thank all of our sponsors, partners, attendees, speakers, vendors, volunteers, and everyone in between who helped make #AFTSDC2022 one of our most successful Africa Fintech Summits yet (Pictured left to right: Lynsey Elston, Andrew Barden, Leland Rice, Sarah Chepkoech, Zekarias Amsalu, Elïone Barry, Mikiyas Tamerat, Ashley Smith, & Alexander Zorko).
what were the highlights?
Keynote Address with Deniece Laurent-Mantey
Deniece Laurent-Mantey (Director for Africa, White House National Security Council) gave the opening keynote for AFTSDC2022 by speaking on the opportunity and potential for Africa's technology industry to thrive in the coming years. In line with our 2022 theme of 'the Africanization of Global Fintech,' Deniece famously stated during her keynote,
"we are in the midst of an unprecedented revolution in the digital technology arena - one which is impacting every sector of the economy and social life, bringing people and nations closer together, and making the world a true global village."
2022 Excellence in Fintech Awards Ceremony
US Partnerships Lead for AFTS, Sarah Chepkoech, presented awards to 14 different stakeholders, commending them for their work contributing to the advancement of the industry and African economy. Companies recognized during the ceremony include: Ecobank, Future Africa, Paxful, Appzone, TeamApt, Briter Bridges, PAPSS, PiggyVest, Paystack, Turaco, Payhippo, Cellulant, Flutterwave, and AFEX.
New Venture Competition in collaboration with IBM
The New Venture Competition was the concluding highlight of the AFTS stage presence. The competition was judged by a panel of experienced VC's balanced with a poll hosted through the virtual event app. Of the six companies that pitched their ideas, Hio Sola-Usidame (Founder & CEO) of OnePort 365 won the competition and will be participating in IBM's Hyper Project Accelerator.
what else happened?
The VIP Dinner washosted on the famed rooftop of Hotel Washington overlooking the White House & Pennsylvania Avenue. The invite-only dinner with live music brought together 150 of the continent's leading investors, entrepreneurs, and enablers to meet before the summit.
The first fireside chat of the day featured Chinedu Enekwe (Partner, Passbook Ventures) sitting down with Tosin Eniolorunda (Founder & CEO, TeamApt) to discuss TeamApt's growth story, expansion plans, and the point-of-view on the recent happenings and trends in African fintech.
AFTSDC2022 hosted two workshops during the afternoon of April 21st. The first workshop was hosted by InsiderPR titled, "PR for Founders." The second workshop, "Navigating Licensing & Regulation in Nigeria" was presented by Pavestones - a law firm based in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
Another fireside chat featured Zekarias Amsalu's (Founder & MD of Ibex Frontier and AFTS Co-Founder) conversation with Ecobank's Group Executive of Operations & Technology, Dr. Tomisin Fashina. They discussed Ecobank's forward-thinking fintech collaboration strategy.
The Post-Summit Happy Hour (hosted in collaboration with MoneyGram) was a great conclusion to #AFTSDC2022. For the first time in AFTS history, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy some music with their drinks and conversations - thanks to some help from the TeamApt team.
#AFTSDC2022 in the airwaves
VOA Africa "African entrepreneurs in the technology sector gathered in Washington D.C. Thursday for the 7th edition of the Africa Fintech Summit... For more, VOA’s Abby Sun spoke to African entrepreneurs and attendees of the Summit." Watch the full video clip.
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