Cairo: 11th Africa Bank 4.0 Summit – North Africa, commenced on the 5th of June 2023 at Le Meridien Cairo Airport, Cairo, Egypt, with Pre-Conference Masterclass Workshop led by Dixtior and Fintech Association of South Africa in two separate sessions. The conference platformed policy makers, and the higher authorities from North Africa’s FinTech, digital banking, and digital payments sector to pave the way forward into progressing Africa’s quest to enhance access to finance by raising the bar with innovative models in payments and finance.

The 2-day conference was inaugurated by Noha Shaker, Secretary General at Egyptian Fintech Association and Vice President at Africa FinTech Network (Conference Chairperson) as she officially welcomed all participants.

The inaugurating session witnessed an exclusive presentation on “The Impact of Digital Financial Development on Financial Inclusion” by Randa Bdeir, Deputy General Manager, Head of Electronic Payment Solutions & Card Technology at Credit Libanais.

“Innovation in a Time of Uncertainty – How can fintech leaders thrive in a digitally disrupted and unpredictable world?” was the focus point of Keynote Panel, which was moderated by Darren Franks, Co-Founder & Director at Fintech Association of South Africa (Supporting Association) and joined by Bernardo Pereira, Operations Director at Dixtior (Headline Partner), Sameh Montasser, CEO Consultant, Digital Transformation & Restructuring at MIDBANK, Mohamed Taysir, Chief Executive Officer at Singularity Finance and BD & Project Relationships Lead at Flare Network, and Amitava Sanyal, Business Head - Africa and Middle East at JMR Infotech (Diamond Partner).

Ahmed Mansour, Secretary General at Egypt Post emphasised on the importance of “Banking in the Metaverse – The Next Frontier for Financial Services” during his speaker presentation while “Transform Better – Innovating Retail Banking in 2023” was elaborated by Zahid Mustafa, Chief Executive Officer at I&M Bank (Tanzania) Ltd.

The Digital Leaders Panel witnessed an interactive brainstorming on “Ensuring Inclusion as we move towards a Cashless Future in North Africa”, moderated by Danielle Lawrence, Interim COO at Fintech Association of South Africa and joined by
*Maher N. Mikati – Chief Executive Officer at Areeba (Gold Partner)

*Jacques Meyer – Managing Director, Digital Banking at CIB Egypt

*Darren Franks – Co-Founder & Director at Fintech Association of South Africa

*Bahaa Farouk – Head of Engineering, Banque Misr Digital Factory at Banque Misr

*Amr Ayad – Head of Digital Payments at Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait – Egypt

The Retail Banking Panel, was the concluding panel for the first day of the event, which focused on “Modernizing Retail Banking Strategies.” Panelists joining this panel included Srirang Srikantha, Chief Executive Officer at Yethi Consulting (Associate Partner), Magdy A. Ghaffar, CEO & Managing Director at SKY Finance, Ramy Waziry, Chief Digital Officer at Misr Digital Innovation (MDI), Kashif Naeem, Group Head of Retail & Digital Banking at Confidential, Ahmed Yasser Gadallah, Director, Head of Retail Transformation at CIB Egypt, and Ehab Akel, Chief Retail Banking Consultant shared his insights as the moderator of this exclusive panel.

Financial Inclusion Panel, was the inaugurating session for the 2nd day of the conference, which witnessed interactive discussion on “Closing Financial Inclusion Gaps.” Ehab Akel, Chief Retail Banking Consultant moderated this panel and was joined by
*Sarah Ibrahim - Chief Financial Inclusion, Governance & Corporate Affairs Officer at Attijariwafa Bank Egypt

*Danielle Lawrence - Interim COO at Fintech Association of South Africa

*Moustafa Elshennawy - Head of Financial Inclusion at Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt

*Amr Abdelhamid - Process Excellence & PMO Director at Erada Microfinance

Zakaria Hasaneen, Blockchain Researcher & Expert: EU, BRI Middle East, and National Ambassador at Africa Blockchain Council shared his insights on “Revolutionizing Payments: Enhancing Efficiency and Security with Blockchain Technology” while “The Future of Digital Banking and Finance: Innovating to Drive Competitive Partnering” was elaborated by Darwish Khalil, Head of Digital, Banking & Capital Markets at Azentio Software (Gold Partner).

“Redefining the Future of Digital Payments in a Changing Digital Landscape” was the focus point for The Payments Town Hall which was joined by Moez Khallouli, Head of Digital Payments Department at Union Internationale de Banques (UIB), Mohammed Altaleesi, Director, Head of Payment Switch at Libyan Islamic Bank, Mohamed Atef, Head of Enterprise Architecture: Information Technology at Arab African International Bank, Adham Eiraky, Chief Operating Officer at Attijariwafa Bank Egypt.

“Fireside Chat – The Future of Digital Currencies in North Africa: Opportunities and Challenges’’ was moderated by Darren Franks, Co-Founder & Director at Fintech Association of South Africa and joined by featured guest speaker Mohamed Taysir, Chief Executive Officer | Singularity Finance | BD & Project Relationships Lead | Flare Network.

The closing presentation on “Revolutionize and Collaborate: Fintech Futures Unleashed An Engaging Interactive Session on Importing Best Practices” was jointly presented by Darren Franks and Danielle Lawrence from Fintech Association of South Africa.

The conference concluded with setting the stage for the Honorary Award Ceremony and Gala – Dinner Reception. This was the first time the awards ceremony was dedicated to the North African territory. The Africa Bank 4.0 Awards have been constituted to recognise and appreciate the efforts of various organizations, associations, and service providers in the field of banking financial services.

Adrian Pillay received the award trophy representing Provenir, that was honored for Best AI-Driven Credit Decisioning Solution Provider of the Year. JMR Infotech, was awarded with the Best Provider in Enterprise-Wide Digital Transformation (Digital Banking Solution), while valU Consumer Finance received the award for “Best Fintech Startup in North Africa: BNPL Service.”

Best Fintech Startup in North Africa: Customer Impact was awarded to Menthum, while Khazna, received the recognition for Best Fintech Startup in North Africa: Digital Wallet & Payment Solution. Telda was awarded for “Best Fintech Startup in North Africa: Digital Bank.”

After recognizing the companies and startups for the best in technology, product and innovations, the below industry leaders were recognized for impressing North Africa with their leadership in the Fintech and Banking fraternity.

  • North Africa's Rising Star in Blockchain Thought Leadership - Mohamed Taysir, Chief Executive Officer | Singularity Finance
  • Most Influential CDO in Tunisia - Taher MOULAHI, Chief Digital Officer | Wifak Bank
  • Most Influential CEO in Tunisia - Nabil El Madani, Chief Executive Officer | Banque Zitouna
  • Most Influential Payments Business Leader in Libya - Mohammed Altaleesi, Director & Head of Payment Switch | Libyan Islamic Bank
  • Most Influential CISO in Libya - Mohamed Elhadi Elbeshti, Deputy Director of Information Security Department | Central Bank of Libya
  • Most Inspiring Emerging Star in North Africa – Payments - Moez Khallouli, Chief Digital Payments Officer | Union Internationale de Banques (UIB)
  • Most Inspiring Emerging Star in North Africa - Digital Banking - Emad Shawky, Chief Digital Officer | Banque Misr
  • Most Inspiring Emerging Star in North Africa – Banking Operations - Adham Eiraky, Chief Operating Officer | Attijariwafa Bank Egypt
  • Most Inspiring Emerging Star in North Africa - Sherif Elbehery Chief Executive Officer | Misr Digital Innovation (MDI)
  • Payments Regulatory Leader of the Year (North Africa) - Hakima El ALAMI, Director of the Payments Department | Bank Al-Maghrib, the Central Bank, Morocco
  • Best Islamic Retail Banker in North Africa - Kashif Naeem, Deputy CEO and Group Head of Retail & Digital Banking | Bank of Khartoum
  • CTO of the Year (North Africa) - Shaarawy Mohamed, Chief Technology Officer | First Abu Dhabi Bank – Egypt / FABMisr
  • CIO of the Year (North Africa) - Hassan El Bedraoui, Group Managing Director for Operations and Technology | Attijariwafa Bank Group
  • COO of the Year (North Africa) - Joman Salama, Executive Chairman Consultant, Transformation | Agricultural Bank of Egypt
  • Most Influential Chief Risk Officer (North Africa) - Hesham Hamdy
  • Most Influential Female Digital Leader of the Year (North Africa) - Aalya Ghouli, Chief Executive Officer | DIGIFI and DIGISERV BNP Paribas, Morocco
  • Most Influential Personality in Blockchain of the Year (North Africa) - Ahmed Adel Mansour, Executive Secretary General | Egypt Post
  • Most Influential Fintech Business Leader of the Year (North Africa) - Noha Shaker, The Secretary General | Egyptian Fintech Association

-Ends-

Diksha Kuntal
Marketing Manager, BII World
E: diksha.kuntal@biiworld.ae