Andrew Barden and Zekarias Amsalu: A conversation with the minds behind the Africa Fintech Summit

Noel Ok. Tshiani is the founding father of Congo Business Network, which has partnered with the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) since April 2019 to mobilise startups and authorities officers from the Democratic Republic of Congo to take part in numerous editions of the summit held in Washington, Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Cape Town. He discusses the evolution of the summit from its inception to the upcoming November version in Lusaka, Zambia, with Andrew Barden, lead organiser, and Zekarias Amsalu, co-founder of the occasion.

Since its inception in 2017, the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) has grown right into a key fintech occasion, not simply in Africa, however globally. Can you share with me the preliminary imaginative and prescient behind the AFTS, and the way it has advanced over the previous editions, resulting in the upcoming tenth version in Lusaka, Zambia?

Andrew Barden: The authentic imaginative and prescient, which stays our imaginative and prescient at this time, is that Africa is uniquely positioned to be a world chief in the monetary expertise business, that a lot work stays to be executed, and that fintech can rework individuals’s lives and economies by means of the energy of significant monetary inclusion and enhanced sustainable improvement.

We take nice care in organising every summit as a result of we’re uniquely positioned to be a catalyst for enabling funding, constructing balanced regulation, and facilitating collaboration throughout sectors and geographies. Over the years, AFTS has change into the high stage for business stakeholders to discover, debate, and join round this shared imaginative and prescient for African fintech.

The AFTS has supported thousands and thousands in capital increase efforts and has been instrumental in shaping coverage pointers and startup ecosystems. From your perspective, what are a few of the most transformational impacts the summit has had, particularly regarding the African fintech panorama?

AB: That is a spectacular query. Personally, I’ve at all times been fascinated by the entrepreneurial course of. One of the programmes we have now run since day one is our AlphaExpo Micro-Accelerator. This non-equity programme has enabled many startups throughout the continent to not solely increase their public profile, but in addition to attach with potential buyers and like-minded people.

Some individuals have advised me, “Africa has too many fintechs.” I don’t agree with that pondering. I consider that as a pan-African ecosystem, we have to do every part we are able to to take away the obstacles to entry that forestall entrepreneurs from taking the step from thought to execution.

The summit is thought for its cross-sectoral collaborations involving buyers, entrepreneurs, and regulators. How do you handle to convey such various stakeholders below one roof, and what has been the secret sauce in fostering profitable partnerships and new enterprise ventures?

AB: The quick reply is a number of telephone calls, emails, and letters. Getting the proper choice makers in the room is the results of years of constructing relationships throughout industries and geographies. At AFTS, we satisfaction ourselves on not being a “pay-to-play” occasion; it is very important us that this various and dynamic business is properly represented at every version. The secret sauce for us is our thought-leadership-first strategy and our concentrate on maintaining the majority of our viewers at the C-suite and director stage. These two issues work collectively to permit for the natural discovery and conversation essential for environment friendly dealmaking and relationship constructing.

Given the number of contributors at the summit, from seasoned buyers to budding fintech entrepreneurs, how do you guarantee that there’s a shared imaginative and prescient and synergy amongst attendees? What methods have confirmed efficient in aligning the pursuits of those various teams in the direction of frequent objectives?

AB: Of course, everybody can have their very own opinions and insights, however in the case of the macro imaginative and prescient of Africa’s fintech business as a method to drive significant monetary inclusion and sustainable financial improvement, I’ve not met many individuals in our business who disagree with that imaginative and prescient. However, in the case of the specifics of how that imaginative and prescient might be realised, that’s the place individuals begin to disagree.

One of the advantages of being a sector-specific occasion is that AFTS attracts an viewers that’s already closely targeted on the fintech sector. With a large internet of various stakeholders attending AFTS, it’s particular to hearken to a lot of the conversations on and off stage, as a result of, whereas individuals could share a macro imaginative and prescient for African fintech, the completely different views usually assist open individuals’s eyes to way more than their “focus area”. For me, it’s much less about aligning everybody’s imaginative and prescient and extra about facilitating a conversation a couple of imaginative and prescient that’s each geographically various and inclusive of various stakeholders.

Last yr, in collaboration with Congo Business Network, AFTS organised a panel in French at the eighth version in Cape Town, South Africa. This yr, you will have renewed this partnership for the panel titled: “Fintechs and the future of financial inclusion in francophone Africa”. Why is it important to stress the French-speaking area in Africa, and what distinctive alternatives and challenges does francophone Africa current in the fintech enterprise?

AB: There has been a divide that has reduce off a lot of francophone Africa from taking part in the conversations round monetary expertise in Africa. For me, it is crucial that we emphasise that Africa just isn’t a monolith however reasonably a mosaic of cultures, languages, and extra. I might say that not solely is it necessary to focus on the francophone a part of the continent, however it’s also paramount that we facilitate the pan-African neighborhood to come back collectively in a significant method. If you will have ever been to an African Union assembly, there are numerous languages being spoken and translated at the similar time. I see no cause why the personal sector can not do the similar.

As we glance in the direction of the tenth version of the AFTS in Lusaka, Zambia, what ought to attendees count on by way of content material, innovation showcases, and alternatives? Further, as a co-founder, are you able to share some insights on the future trajectory of AFTS, particularly in gentle of the fast developments in African fintech?

Zekarias Amsalu: We have lots deliberate for the Lusaka version and have been working intently with many spectacular stakeholders, together with Zambia’s Ministry of Science and Technology in addition to the Payments Association of Zambia. Planning for the Lusaka version is on monitor to welcome over 700 delegates from over 60 nations round the world and will cowl matters corresponding to fintech’s involvement in synthetic intelligence, cross-border commerce, infrastructure improvement, local weather adaptation, and way more. While in Lusaka, we’ll stay up for asserting subsequent yr’s summit, and we’ll actively be working to foster larger collaboration throughout industries and geographies.

As the co-founder of AFTS, are you able to recount the inspiration behind launching this platform, and how do you understand its progress and evolution main as much as the upcoming tenth version in Lusaka, Zambia?

ZA: Organically, since 2017, AFTS has grown to change into a world-leading platform for Africa’s fintech stakeholders. When we began, fintech in Africa was a a lot smaller business, however we recognised the want for collaboration between stakeholders and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. Over the years, we have now had the pleasure of bringing a number of main buyers and companies to the continent for the first time.

The AFTS is not only a convention, however an ecosystem-building initiative. Could you delve into the significance of making such an ecosystem in Africa, and how initiatives like workshops, pitch competitions, and ecosystem excursions contribute to the progress and dynamism of the fintech sector?

ZA: “Ecosystem” is a phrase that’s overused in the startup world, however we like to think about it as a neighborhood. How can we higher strengthen the neighborhood of fintech professionals in Africa? Anyone can join with anybody else, but when you don’t take the time and effort to construct significant connections, it turns into a lot more durable to function in the business. Much of our business is constructed on partnerships, and that can’t occur with out neighborhood constructing. We see our initiatives, particularly our ecosystem tour, as a option to strengthen this fintech neighborhood and propel it into the future.

The twin nature of AFTS, happening in Washington, DC and rotating amongst African cities, appears strategic. How do you consider this bi-geographical strategy has impacted the discourse on African fintech, particularly when juxtaposed with international occasions like the spring conferences of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund?

ZA: This bi-geographic strategy and our mannequin of selecting a brand new host metropolis every November doesn’t make our job any simpler. While it will undoubtedly be easier to duplicate the summit in a set location every year, as is frequent with many different occasions, our staff at AFTS is dedicated to consistently exploring new markets to broaden the influence of our message. Hosting the summit in Washington, DC throughout the spring conferences of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has performed an necessary function in not solely bringing the diaspora to the desk, but in addition in constructing credibility for Africa’s expertise sector.

For instance, a New York City-based investor who has by no means executed enterprise in Africa will not be prepared to fly to the continent to be taught and see for themselves, but when they see an occasion targeted on African fintech only a quick practice journey away from Washington, that alone helps take away the barrier to entry. Several buyers have come to the summit in Washington particularly to “explore” what’s going on. After the summit, they e mail us asking when the subsequent one is on the continent.

With a formidable monitor file of supporting thousands and thousands in capital increase efforts and considerably aiding market entry and coverage guideline creation, how do you envision the subsequent part of AFTS? Particularly, what do you consider are the rising alternatives and challenges for African fintechs as we enter 2024?

ZA: Our staff sees a number of work to be executed in the space of public schooling. One of the core values we maintain at AFTS is the perception that monetary inclusion is paramount, however monetary inclusion is meaningless with out the improvement of monetary literacy. Over the subsequent decade, I consider we’ll see extra and extra fintechs working exterior of the Big Four markets. 

This is one in every of the explanation why we held our summit in Addis Ababa in the previous and in Lusaka this yr. In phrases of challenges, the slowdown we’re seeing in enterprise funding is strengthening the total due diligence course of that fintechs should undergo, and will assist so as to add credibility to the fintech area for these firms which might be capable of increase funding presently and these which might be capable of change into money circulate optimistic.

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