African Development Bank Joins Network To Advance Continent’s Digital Finance Future

Global strategic organisation, the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have charted the way forward at the 4th Africa Cashless Payment Systems Conference (Virtual Edition), a high-level gathering of policymakers, financial leaders, innovators, and global experts committed to shaping Africa’s digital finance future.

The virtual conference, which was held on Thursday with a theme titled “Building a Safer Cashless Economy and Business Communities,” focused on scaling trust, strengthening digital infrastructure, and accelerating financial inclusion across the continent.

The event opened with a welcome address by the vice president of FIN, Kate Sovedagari, who emphasized the urgency of regional collaboration, innovation-driven growth, and the creation of safer digital environments for businesses and consumers.

It is instructive to note that the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) delivered the first keynote of the event—an anchor moment of the conference.

The AfDB’s director of the Research Department, Dr Anthony Simpasa, represented the President of the AfDB, Dr Sidi Ould Tah, whose leadership continues to shape Africa’s financial systems and digital transformation agenda.

In his remarks on behalf of Dr Sidi, Dr. Simpasa highlighted the following points: The central role of policy coherence and digital trust; the importance of regional integration; AfDB’s ongoing commitment to supporting African governments with regulatory frameworks, digital infrastructure, and innovation financing.

This keynote address also reinforced AfDB’s leadership in promoting a secure, inclusive, and interoperable digital financial ecosystem across Africa.

The second keynote was presented by Himesh Ramanlal Patel, Founder & CEO of Sync Neural Genesis AG | AEIR | Netzium | House of Pioneers, who introduced “The Enerconomy,” a transformative model that explores how energy-backed digital systems can drive economic participation, resilience, and sustainability across emerging markets.

The conference featured perspectives from globally recognized economists, fintech leaders, technology experts, CEOs, and digital finance practitioners.

Experts also offered different insights on the subject at the conference. The experts include: Nikola G. Swann, CFA, FRM

Global head of governments & multilaterals, SwissThink; Dipo Fatokun, chairman, Board of Directors, Flutterwave Inc; Lourdes Casanova,

director, Emerging Markets Institute, Cornell University, USA; Olukayode Akinbinu, group head, Foreign Subsidiaries & Global Market Expansion, Zenith Bank; Emmanuel Adeoye,

head of Operations & Finance, KongaPay; Temi Labor, group chief internal auditor, Pay10 Global; Dr. Austin Okpagu, country director, Verto; Akin Fayomi, executive programme manager, First Bank of Abu Dhabi; Charles Mutama, founder, BidVerse Capital;

Uzo Onumonu, founder, Apex Lumina; Nii Amarh Amarteifio, CEO, Linmart Media Solutions; and Heather LaMarre, managing partner, HBM Strategies

The group noted that their insights reinforced the importance of cybersecurity, policy harmonisation, cross-border interoperability, and the need to embed trust at the core of Africa’s digital finance ecosystem.

Throughout the sessions, the speakers conveyed a unified message to stakeholders: Africa’s cashless future hinges on secure systems, inclusive policies, and coordinated regional action.