AFIS TV

Moderator:
- Patrick COOKE – Head of Middle East and Africa, Euromoney

Speakers:
- Lina TONUI – Project Director, African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP)
- Brahim BENJELLOUN TOUIMI – Chairman of the Board of Directors, Casablanca Stock Exchange
- Bassem GHARSALLI – VP & Country Manager, North Africa, Mastercard
- John Bosco SEBABI – Deputy CEO, PAPSS

Africa’s integration initiatives—AfCFTA, PAPSS, and AELP—aim to deepen financial connectivity across the continent. Yet most institutions currently expect limited rather than transformational impact (Deloitte-AFIS Barometer). Challenges include regulatory fragmentation, uneven digital infrastructure, currency volatility, and reluctance from governments to cede financial control.

With PAPSS launching an Africa Currency Marketplace and a PAPSS card and AELP expanding participating exchanges, this panel explores how regulatory coordination, risk mitigation, and currency trading frameworks can help financial institutions fully embrace these pan-African initiatives.

Key topics:
- Regulatory Harmony: What more can AfCFTA do to encourage banks and capital markets to adopt AELP and PAPSS?
- Dollar Dependence: What are the current transaction volumes through PAPSS & AELP, and are institutions ready to commit to African currency trading?
- Risk Mitigation: How can AfCFTA, PAPSS, and AELP jointly address forex volatility and build trust in local currency settlements?

Moderator:
- Alice SEE – Consultant in Strategic and Financial Communications, Editor-in-Chief/Moderator (FR & EN), Alice See Consulting

Speakers:
- Daniel NNOMO NTI – Head of Portfolio, Business Development, African Guarantee Fund
- Elizabeth Kibirige NAMUGENYI – Director, Partnerships and Blended Finance, IFC
- Josephine ANAN-ANKOMAH – Managing Director, Ecobank Kenya & Regional Executive, Central, Eastern & Southern Africa

Global aid is projected to drop by $31bn this year, placing immense pressure on credit and support systems for women-led SMEs and fintechs in Africa. With only ~2% of startup funding (~$10m) going to female founders in Q1 2025, a $49bn financing gap persists. Despite this, women-led ventures like South Africa’s Naked ($38m) and Kenya’s Pula ($10m) are breaking through.

This panel examines how African financial institutions, fintech innovation, and blended finance models can step in as traditional aid recedes, enabling sustainable support for women entrepreneurs across the continent.

Key Points:
- Sustainable Financing Instruments: How can banks and insurers design effective solutions for women-led SMEs and fintechs in a post-aid environment?
- Fintech & Insurtech Innovation: What role can mobile money, alternative credit scoring, and digital platforms play in widening access to finance?
- Development Finance & Aid: In a transactional world, what support can DFIs and international donors realistically provide to foster women’s entrepreneurship?

Moderator:
- Abdelmalek ALAOUI – CEO, Guepard Group

Speakers:
- Yasmina ASRARGUIS – Near Eastern Studies Department | Visiting Researcher, Princeton University
- Obaid AMRANE – CEO, Ithmar Capital
- Chukwuerika ACHUM – CEO, Falcon Aerospace (VivaJets)
- Solomon QUAYNOR – VP, Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation, African Development Bank (AfDB)
- Sérgio PIMENTA – CEO, Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund


Africa has 16 landlocked countries, more than any other continent, making efficient trade corridors from interior regions to seaports essential for economic growth. Projects like the Lobito Corridor ($2.3bn) and AfDB’s €157m upgrade to Burkina Faso–Côte d’Ivoire road links highlight the scale and cost of these initiatives. Strategic ports such as Tanger Med and Nador West Med are emerging gateways, but financing, regulatory frameworks, cross-border agreements, and governance models remain challenging.

This panel explores innovative finance mechanisms, priority infrastructure projects, and regional cooperation to unlock trade access for Africa’s landlocked countries.

Key topics:
- Innovative Financing: How can sovereign bonds, blended finance, and Corridor Special Purpose Vehicles fund inland trade corridors?
- Infrastructure Priorities: Which road or rail links urgently need construction or rehabilitation?
- Regional Cooperation: How can policy alignment accelerate corridor development across borders?