Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), is set to unlock the untapped potentials in the financial services ecosystem by providing funding, mentorship and nurturing for financial technology (Fintech) startups.
AFF is an initiative of Access Bank in collaboration with tech giants; Microsoft and IBM to provide a platform to foster innovation in the Fintech ecosystem with the aim of nurturing young talent for the future of financial services in Africa.
During its ‘AFF DISRUPT’ Fintech conference which held recently in Lagos recently, Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, stated that technology holds the key to unlock the potentials in the financial service sector across Africa through Fintech.
“Technology is the growth to financial institution in Africa,” he said.
Wigwe who was represented by Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group DMD, Access Bank spoke on “Digital Leadership: The Future of Financial Services,” saying that Access Bank strongly believes in the opportunities available to startups via technology.
“Technology is the new rave, which is why Access Bank has invested a lot in Fintech over the years,” he said.
Victor Okigbo, Program Director, AFF in his welcome address said AFF is a Pan-African accelerator aimed at inspiring, mentoring and investing fund into growth stage technology startups operating in the Fintech space across Africa.
According to him, AFF creates opportunities for entrepreneurs by providing incubation support to startups.
“AFF provides a test bed to showcase best practices for African-led Fintech solutions. We seek to shore up the business capacity of startups, facilitate access to capital, markets, and global innovation partners,” he said.
Deremi Atanda, Executive Director, SystemSpecs in his remarks urged entrepreneurs playing in the African Fintech ecosystem to always think collaboration with other players to grow the sector.
“Do not think about competition; think about creating lasting values that connect with the needs of the market,” Atanda stated.
According to him, Startup measures growth by the value their product generates and not by the amount of revenue their product made.
Atanda however opines that the uniqueness of creating products is the ability to adapt to the ever changing needs of its end users.
As financial solution providers continue to face stiffer competition globally from Fintech startups and emerging technologies such as block chain, crypto currency and crowd-funding that are disrupting the traditional mode of payment and business models, calls for a need for government to invest in the sector to build capacity.
Omobola Johnson, Lead partner at TLcom Capital Nigeria, and a former Minister of Communication Technology, said that government must provide support for talent development by first investing in the sector to attract more foreign investors into the sector.
“The opportunity in Fintech is huge, hence the increasing rate of investments across the world. Supporting the talents building innovation by bringing in more investors is what will sustain the Fintech ecosystem in Africa,” Johnson said.
John Salau
