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Hustle, innovation, and opportunity - here are all the reasons why Lagos is hosting the Africa Fintech Summit

Ahead of the first ever Africa Fintech Summit on Africa, Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa talks to Leland Rice, chairman of the event, about the growth of fintech on the continent.

  • There’s a general feeling of optimism about the fintech market in Nigeria and Africa
  • The population of Nigeria and market size potential make fintech a fertile field for investment and innovation
  • The objectives of holding Africa Fintech Summit in Lagos this year range from investment facilitation to fostering interactions and informing policy

First, Piggybank.ng raised $1.1 million. Then Paystack raised $8 million from Visa, Stripe, and Tencent. Paga followed with a B2 investment worth $10 million led by the Global Innovation Fund. And a few weeks ago, Flutterwave completed a Series A extension round of funding with Mastercard as an investor.

It’s been that kind of year for Nigerian fintech. Players making big moves and catching the attention of global companies. What’s more, fintech has been the main topic of discussion in many circles around the country, with financial inclusion forming the bedrock of several events and symposia.

There’s a general feeling of optimism about the market in Nigeria and Africa. Leland Rice, chairman of The Africa Fintech Summit agrees with this sentiment. In an interview with Business Insider Sub-Saharan Africa, he mentions that Nigeria is at an inflexion point in fintech innovation and polity and that his firm, Dedalus Global, organisers of the event, is bullish on the space and excited to be involved in deals.

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Leland believes that the population of Nigeria and market size potential as well as the level of entrepreneurial zeal and expertise, added to growing political will, make fintech a fertile field for investment and innovation.

An example, apart from the growing investment figures into fintech startups, is the recent Central Bank of Nigeria draft policy on mobile money and lending. The document indicates that the government is finally recognising the impact that mobile phones and the Internet are having on the way Nigerians think about and use money. This document and the CBN’s regular appearance in fintech related events also point to the regulator’s openness to discussion. Whether or not those discussions are moving as swiftly as possible is a conversation for another time.

The Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) is a biannual event that, erstwhile, held in Washington D.C. This will be the first edition in Lagos. When I ask Leland why the event is holding in Lagos this year and at this time, he says the decision was made by AFTS’s advisory board, and Lagos was chosen because it is the largest city with the biggest opportunities, it is powered by hustle and an entrepreneurial spirit, and it hosts a large number of homegrown innovation and founders.

He adds that challenges posed by infrastructural gaps in the city fuel the spirit of innovation resident there. He points to the example of how cryptocurrency adoption is fueled by currency volatility and the embrace of blockchain technology is driven by a desire to combat real estate fraud.

The objectives of AFTS holding in Lagos this year, Leland tells me, range from investment facilitation to fostering interactions and informing policy.

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Leland says that the event is designed to give investors and startups access to each other, providing a platform for face-to-face interaction and bringing together the ecosystem to ensure everyone is speaking the same language. He adds that the event aims to facilitate pan-African cooperation and to connect stakeholders across the continent.

Other objectives of the summit include facilitating discussions that inform policy so that policymakers and regulators have the chance to hear from the community. To this end, Leland says the summit organisers are working closely with the Nigerian Vice President and the central bank (CBN). The summit will also bring African fintech to the world stage, creating an Africa-focused event for a global audience.

What does success (of the event) look like to you, I ask Leland. In response, he highlights the following.

The Africa Fintech Summit holds in Lagos at the Civic Centre on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Register here.

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