Kenya Hosts the 12th Edition of the Africa Fintech Summit
September 04, 2024
By Samuel Ouma
The 12th edition of the African Fintech Summit has kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya.
The two-day event is being held at the J.W. Marriott from September 4-6, 2024. It brings together African and global Africa-focused fintech stakeholders for growth-enabling conversations and engagements.
The Africa Fintech Summit typically hosts the best and brightest of African fintech, stakeholders across different sectors, and global tech players.
The organizations represented at the event include M-PESA, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Paystack, MDP, Visa, Mastercard, Google, Microsoft, 500 Global, Ecobank, Bank of America, Fintech Association of Kenya (FINTAK), Prosper Africa, and more. Many of these also double as sponsors of the event.
The summit began with a customary VIP dinner on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Dignitaries were treated to fine dining and engaging conversations in a relaxed setting, allowing them to form meaningful connections before the main event.
Under the theme “Fintech in Every Industry,” the main event on September 5 includes an extensive line-up of panel sessions and keynotes.
The content tracks include a fireside chat with Shola Akinlade, Co-founder of Paystack, and conversations on open banking, Kenya’s tech ecosystem, mobile money, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), blockchain technology, cross-border money transfer and remittances, fintech’s role in Africa’s climate solutions and more.
Other exciting side engagements include workshops, startup exhibitions, and the Excellence in Fintech Award ceremony. Proceedings on the fifth will end with a Visa-sponsored happy hour.
On the summit's final day, attendees will be involved in a Sunrise Networking Safari and two tours of the Kenyan tech ecosystem focused on investing and expanding into Kenya.
The rest of the day will be spent on several expert-led masterclasses and the AlphaExpo Micro Accelerator and Pitch Competition.
The Nairobi event is the latest edition of the biannual Africa Fintech Summit, which takes place in Washington, D.C., and in an African city every year.
Since its inception in 2018, AFTS has established itself as the leading global initiative dedicated to Africa’s fintech ecosystem. It provides a unique space where ideas are shared, investments mobilized, and partnerships formed.
Over the last 11 summits—five in Washington D.C., a virtual edition in 2020, and one each in Lagos, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, and Lusaka—AFTS has welcomed more than 9,000 in-person and virtual delegates.
Over 150 panel sessions, workshops, and roundtable discussions led by 400+ industry-leading speakers and panelists have occurred at these events.
The summits have also facilitated multiple partnerships and hosted product and initiative launches like the Prosper Africa Tech for Trade Alliance while contributing to the successful efforts of startups to raise over $150 million.
