Women in Finance | Can gender bonds and innovative mobile products unlock a $2.5 trillion opportunity?
Gender bonds and mobile apps offering advanced capital to women hold new hope to empower female entrepreneurs, who could add $2.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP by 2025. But the continent has the lowest gender bond issuance globally, and the digital tools designed for women-led MSMEs still face challenges of digital literacy, internet connectivity, and access […]
Connected capital markets: Unlocking intra-Africa stock trading
Intra-African trade has seen growth, yet it remains only 15% of total trade—far below Europe’s 68%. The African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), launched in December 2022, connects over 2,000 companies with a combined market capitalisation of $1.5 trillion, aiming to facilitate cross-border securities trading and boost market transparency across seven African exchanges. Through increased liquidity […]
Masterclass | Embracing AI and Blockchain for Finance – Pathway to the Next Billion: Leapfrog or Freefall
In an era of rapid technological acceleration, African financial leaders face a critical choice: embrace transformative technologies like blockchain and AI to leapfrog legacy systems or risk stagnation. Africa has already demonstrated its ability to leapfrog, becoming a global leader in mobile payments. Now, blockchain and AI offer similar revolutionary potential. Key Points: How can […]
AgTech: Financing the transformation of Africa’s agriculture and food systems
Africa needs to significantly improve productivity in its food value chains to meet the current and growing demand of an increasing population and achieve food security. Agricultural Technology (agTech) presents an opportunity to transform agriculture and food systems in Africa in the way Fintech has transformed financial inclusion in the past decade. AgTechs connect smallholder […]
CBDCs: Maximising the potential for cross-border payments and financial inclusion
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Rwanda this year joined a growing list of African nations exploring CBDC launches. Nigeria’s eNaira wallet, integrated by some fintechs and commercial banks, shows the potential for offline services to the unbanked – although only 0.5% of Nigerians were using the […]
Energy, private equity, real estate: How can African institutional investors better exploit these opportunities?
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. African institutional investors are looking to diversify their portfolios into alternative assets such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure to optimise their risk-return profile. But alternative assets represent just 3% of total assets under management due to a lack of properly adapted local […]
Turning consumer savings into productive investments via capital markets
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. Channeling Africa’s savings into productive investments that drive economic growth remains a critical challenge. Success stories like M-Pesa in Kenya, and South Africa’s Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have increased financial inclusion, and abroad Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) and India’s Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) […]
Closing Ceremony
Opening Panel | A new era: Time to mobilise Africa’s financial power
Africa’s financial destiny and the continent’s capacity to finance its economic needs require swift and strong action from regional and pan-African leaders. In the wake of a subdued international financial presence on the continent, African champions must now lead the way in establishing the continent’s economic prosperity, from supporting trade finance and infrastructure projects to […]
Cracking the code on expanding insurance to the informal sector
Embedded insurance on mobile money and banking apps holds vast potential to expand access to health, crop, and personal accident cover for informal workers, 83% of Africa’s workforce. While partnerships are growing in the space, insurers are still grappling with tech integration hurdles, data gaps on informal sector risks, pricing strategies for a segment with […]