Addressing Financial Inclusivity through Digital Democracy: Is Bitcoin the digital version of gold?
Financial inclusivity is a pre-requisite for building any economy, none more so than in Africa. Acknowledging the role Fin-Tech is playing in redefining financial boundaries and opportunity, AfricaCom 2017 has added a specific track focusing on Africa’s financial digital fluency. Debuting this year at the continent’s single largest and most influential technology, media and telecoms event, are a host of talks, presentations, case studies and prospects around Fintech and eCommerce, designed to inform and push the boundaries of invention.
The 20th staging of AfricaCom, takes place from 7-9 November in Cape Town, and is a vital confluence of all things digital. “More than ever before, AfricaCom 2017 will provide the ability for Africa to shape itself for the future, drive itself forward and serve as an example for other economies looking to get ahead, as Africa’s innovation often leads, not follows,” says Tom Cuthell, Portfolio Director of AfricaCom organiser KNect365.
“Digital disruption equals digital democracy and nowhere will this be more keenly felt than in the ability for all levels of society to engage in the monetary exchange and rewards that fin-tech can provide. For this reason, we have developed a detailed stream of content to appeal to all players in the financial value chain – from developers, payment partners, retailers and end users. It is a must for any business looking to transact online.”
It’s a wide open and thoroughly exciting time for players in this market to disrupt the status quo and champion more equality and opportunity, agrees Shirley Gilbey, Head of Rise and Co-Creation at Barclays Africa Group Limited, who is responsible for driving partnership with the world’s best and brightest start-ups and experts to create the future of Barclays Africa and who will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, 8 November 2017 12:10 – 12:30.
Also on the agenda at AfricaCom, are a host of discussions and debates such as a look into future mobile payments trends, the uptake of wearables, near-field-communications (nfc) and M-Pos that are driving the global mobile payment market.
Not to be excluded from the conversation, retailers are also realising the fruits of digital and mobile payments. A panel discussion on how retailers can incorporate eCommerce as a central strategy will explore greater insights into customer profiles and preferences; examine whether the consumer is driving their own experience or not, and, where that leaves retailers in the communications and trading mix. In another, but related discussion, the question of reward and redemption will be tackled by speakers like Peter Miller, head of Retail at wiGroup and Andreas Demeleitner, Peach Payments.
While much has been done to include the previously unbanked, still more has to happen to truly realise an economic democracy. Things like mobile money and decentralised virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Blockchain are going a long way to addressing these needs, and disrupting global markets, What’s next? Is Bitcoin the digital version of Gold? It’s not hard to see how these technologies can be deployed in Africa, a continent that has famously leapfrogged many technological stages, but is it enough? To find out, delegates will hear from the likes of Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO and Founder of BitPesa, a pan-African digital FX and payment platform.
On the other side of the coin, disruptors like Abraham Cambridge, founder of The Sun Exchange, are using crypto-currencies to create new paradigms in powering Africa using solar energy to spark positive change.
But to define the real opportunities in Africa for blockchain, delegates will be invited to hear from a panel of experts that include South Africa’s foremost blockchain expert, Lorien Gamaroff, founder of blockchain and cryptocurrency
