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More than 40 leaders in the banking industry across the West African sub-region are expected in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, for the Future Banking Tech West Africa Summit which holds on April 23 and 24.
The top delegates would gather to discuss ongoing efforts aimed at increasing financial inclusion in the sub-region by 2020 and also focus on the future of digitising banking services among Central Banks in West Africa.
This becomes important as leveraging off experiences of similar regions can aid in the adoption of best financial inclusion practices. Moreover, it is becoming incumbent on banking stakeholders to be rapid, yet savvy, in incorporating disruptive mobile money platforms, automated banking systems, tailored credit facilities and crypto-currencies for this dynamic market.
The Future Banking Technology Summit, according to the organisers, would , over two days of panel discussions and case studies showcasing, address the full value chain of the region’s banking and financial sector to best achieve financial inclusion and sustainable banking sector growth.
The summit would also bring together, under one roof, ministries of finance, central, commercial, investment, and microfinance banks, along with telecommunications FinTech and E-Commerce operators in West Africa to exchange visions on ways of achieving progress in financial inclusion, that is becoming highly sought for recently to cater to the demand of population, and the rapid penetration of latest telecommunication technologies by customers.
A 2018 survey conducted by McKinsey’s found that nearly 40 per cent of all African banking customers preferred digital channels for transactions with Africa gradually emerging as the global leader in mobile money. Africa has actually emerged as the world’s No. 2 banking market in terms of growth and profitability.
Commenting on the Future Banking Tech West Africa Summit , Chief Information Officer, Ghana Commercial Bank, Umar EL Farouk, said, “The summit represents a platform to converse about risk, rewards, security and transparency. How are you coping as a financial services provider with the Board of Directors, with Regulators, with Cyber-security, with Technology integration, with internal Auditors and Compliance, with internal stakeholders and customers, with Market and Competition?”
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which members include Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Togo, is already distributing digital currencies and interoperability between e-money payment systems in Francophone West Africa.
The chairman of the eBusiness Industry Heads Committee in Nigeria (CeBIH),Stanley Jacob, who also doubles as the Head of Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, said, ”Technology in Banking & Payments has evolved significantly and Nigeria as a major actor has become the key factor to be considered in setting the pace for digital ideation, innovation and the application of enterprise payment systems to transform businesses and lifestyle.”
Jacob added, “We expect this event to provide a direction on we can enhance our technologies and systems to facilitate a digital economy and most importantly achieve our targets on financial inclusion. I encourage experts, investors and key industry stakeholders to join this gathering of thought leaders and let’s make it happen.”
The Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, listed speakers at the summit to include Niyi Ajao, the executive director of Nigeria Inter-Bank settlement systems; Stephen Ambore, Head of Digital Financial Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria; Sampson Akligoh, Director of Financial Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance in Ghana, and Onyebuchi Akosa, Group, Chief Information Officer, United Bank for Africa Plc, among others.
The two-days summit would also tackle several paramount topics, including innovation in regulation, overcoming gaps in rural banking strategies, supporting innovative financial institutions to improve financial inclusion, improving credit facilities to underbanked and SME’s through main panel discussions and networking breaks.
