This archive report was first published on 9 July 2019.
Published on July 9, 2019, Safaricom has announced a Sh. 5 Million sponsorship towards the inaugural Afro-Asia FinTech Festival 2019, themed ‘Fintech in the Savannah’, which will be co-hosted by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The festival, to be held at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on July 15th and 16th, 2019, aims to provide a platform for connections, collaborations, and exchange of ideas between Africa and Asia, as well as explore sustainable financial services innovations from emerging Afro-Asian Markets.
‘The festival is a great platform for us as it presents opportunities to showcase the progress that Safaricom has made over the years towards financial technology as well as interact with peers in FinTech across the globe,’ said Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom.
‘Two years ago, we opened up our Daraja API portal giving over 16,000 developers an opportunity to integrate their businesses with M-PESA seamlessly. This is in line with our strategy to deepen financial inclusion and give developers a chance to come up with new innovations,’ added Sitoyo.
Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya, expressed his delight in hosting the event, stating, ‘We are indeed delighted to host such a unique event which shows where we are as an African country in the spectrum of Fintech, we are at the front. We are the pacesetters and we are not just excited about technology but the difference it is making for millions of people in Africa and billions around the world.’
