Following highly successful events in Washington and Lagos in 2018, the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) returns to Washington this April, ahead of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. Through a strategic partnership with Congo Business Network, the AFTS seeks to engage Congolese professionals and entrepreneurs who are working to revolutionize the pan-African technology ecosystem
On April 11, tech and finance leaders from across Africa and the U.S. will gather at the Institute of Peace in Washington, DC to discuss the future of financial technology. Among its strategic partners is Congo Business Network, an international network of Congolese professionals and entrepreneurs.
Financial technology, or fintech, is disrupting banking, finance, and even money as we know it. It’s a global phenomenon, but in Africa more than anywhere, the impact has the potential to be both socially and economically transformative. This is especially true in Congo, where tech entrepreneurs are pioneering mobile-first platforms that are reversing a legacy of financial exclusion and limited banking infrastructure. Opportunities for innovation and investment abound.
The AFTS is designed to gather these innovators, together with investors, regulators, and policy makers, to discuss the growth of these technologies in Africa.
Over $2 billion in private equity and venture capital funding will be represented at this year’s AFTS, along with startups from across the continent and representatives from several African central banks. Focus areas include the future of banking, venture capital, policy and regulation, blockchain, digital identity, remittances, and financial inclusion.
About the Africa Fintech Summit:
The AFTS is the premier global initiative dedicated to fintech in Africa. It is held each April in Washington, DC, and each November in a different city in Africa. Supported by an advisory board of thought leaders and fintech pioneers, the AFTS is a unique space where ideas are explored, investments mobilized, and collaborations formed across sectors and geographies.
About Congo Business Network:
Congo Business Network is an international network of Congolese professionals and entrepreneurs. Its mission is to connect professionals and entrepreneurs in the diaspora in order to take action and contribute to the economic development of Congo. The objectives of the network are to:
Mobilize its supporters to regularly promote business opportunities in Congo; get the diaspora involved in economic and social development projects in Congo; and put the expertise of its supporters into initiatives that contribute to the advancement of professional life.
The network has pioneered the most technologically advanced way to connect the diaspora with entrepreneurs in Congo and in Africa through online events that are organized with LinkedIn Events and Cisco WebEx. Online events have three goals:
Connect the diaspora to professionals and entrepreneurs in Africa; share knowledge and expertise in a sector of economic activity; and create real-time networking opportunities by video among participants on Cisco WebEx.
Individuals in the network are seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs who are based in such cities as Hong Kong, Montreal, New York, Paris, and Kinshasa. And they have experience from companies ranging from Microsoft, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, to TV5Monde. The organization is led by a former United States Marine named Noel K. Tshiani, president of Agere Global, an investment advisory and business strategy firm headquartered in New York, in the United States of America.
Congo is gigantic by numbers. With 87 million people, according to McKinsey & Company’s most recent statistics, it is the 4th most populous nation in Africa, behind Nigeria (190), Ethiopia (105) and Egypt (97). Spread over 2.34 million square kilometers, Congo is the second largest country in Africa by size after Algeria.
To learn more about the event or to register, visit http://africafintechsummit.com.
