Kagame, First Lady to grace global fintech forum in Kigali
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
President Paul Kagame is expected to deliver keynote messages at the upcoming global Inclusive Fintech Forum in Kigali on June 20. Photo by Village Urugwiro

President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame are expected to deliver keynote messages at the upcoming to global Inclusive Fintech Forum that will expound on the role of technology in financial inclusion.

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The forum slated for June 20 to 22 will bring together more than 2000 global regulators, policymakers, decision-makers, founders, and investors, drawing about 100 keynote speakers.

It is organized by the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) and Elevandi, a company established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to advance Fintech in the digital economy.

The platform seeks to among others spark discussions and ideate solutions on inclusive and sustainable FinTech, with an emphasis on the Global South, which includes Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

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This aims to foster implementation strategies for the inclusive and sustainable development of Fintech through deep-dive roundtables and workshops and showcasing best-in-class inclusive Fintech projects.

The forum will feature in keynote speeches, the Founders Peak that highlights leading entrepreneurs, knowledge and ecosystem stages, the capital meets policy dialogue, and exhibition.

Discussions will revolve around digital payments and lending with a focus on how to implement affordable and scalable interoperable payment Infrastructure, and affordable lending products to low and middle-income segments.

It will also include micro-wealth management, insurance and pensions, capital markets infrastructure, and ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) financing.

All this will contribute to furthering financial inclusion by enabling fintech development to become more equitable, accessible, and sustainable to all people of the world by developing and promoting public goods, infrastructure, and financial literacy.

This high-level meeting comes at a time when Kigali is positioning itself as a Pan African hub for FinTech and green finance, having KIFC at the heart of this ambitious journey along with the domiciling Norrsken East Africa hub that hosts thousands of African startups in this sector.

KIFC does so by attracting foreign businesses and investors, which is set to improve Rwanda’s competitiveness, within the financial sector.