AMA PRESS RELEASE
With a little over two weeks to the start of the 12th Africa Fintech Summit, we are excited to announce that His Excellency Wamkele Mene Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, will give a keynote address on the morning of September 05, 2024, at the 12th Africa Fintech Summit that is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya!
H.E. Wamkele Mene was elected by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States & Government of the African Union, to the position of Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and has the pleasure of providing the Africa Fintech Summit audience with updates relevant to cross border trade across the continent and how financial technology is powering this progress at scale.
It is important to note that as of March 2024, countries trading under the #AfCFTA have increased from 6 to 35, an almost 500% growth since the first trade in October 2022. Since assuming this huge undertaking of a single market for goods and services, the AfCFTA has deepened the economic integration of the African continent through the implementation of the largest free trade area that brings together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs) with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately $3.4 trillion.
“We are honoured to welcome His Excellency Secretary General as our keynote speaker for the 12th Africa Fintech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya this September. His Excellency’s participation and keynote address comes at such a pivotal time when the Digital Trade protocol approved in February 2024 has begun to pave the way for the realization of Africa’s single market integration. The numbers are positive and we are confident that the financial technology innovation ecosystems will play a huge part in the growing implementation of the trade protocol” said Zekarias Amsalu, Co-Founder of Africa Fintech Summit.
His Excellency’s Secretary General’s keynote address will be followed by a roundtable titled “AfCFTA’s Digital Trade Protocol – Impacts and Opportunities for the Fintech World”. The roundtable will feature regulators, Fintech and Financial Industry Leaders, infrastructure investors, and data centre operators. Invited guests can expect a deep dive with the AfCFTA team on the technology impact and benefits that the digital trade protocol affords multinational companies to do business within member states. Going beyond encouraging cross-border commerce to streamline customs procedures, reducing tariffs and harmonising import and export regulations, the potential for growth is endless.
The rest of the day will feature a series of high-level fireside chats, a lineup of 80+ speakers at thought-provoking panels, insights-driven workshops and masterclasses designed to leave Africa’s fintech industry with clear actionable insights and next steps for innovation, collaboration, regulation, partnership, and growth.
