Lunches
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Saturday
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12:45 pm
Batten Hives 207

Africa Finance Corporation | presentation and networking

Join the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for an insightful session on how innovative financing solutions are transforming Africa’s infrastructure landscape. This session will explore AFC’s approach to de-risking investments, fostering sustainable industrialization & resource monetization, and driving climate resilience. Learn how AFC is bridging the continent’s $100 billion annual infrastructure gap through strategic partnerships, project development and extensive cutting-edge financial instruments. Plus, discover AFC’s exciting career opportunities, competitive benefits, and impact-driven work culture.

Africa Finance Corporation | presentation and networking

Join the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for an insightful session on how innovative financing solutions are transforming Africa’s infrastructure landscape. This session will explore AFC’s approach to de-risking investments, fostering sustainable industrialization & resource monetization, and driving climate resilience. Learn how AFC is bridging the continent’s $100 billion annual infrastructure gap through strategic partnerships, project development and extensive cutting-edge financial instruments. Plus, discover AFC’s exciting career opportunities, competitive benefits, and impact-driven work culture.

America/New_York
Feb 15, 2025 12:45 PM
Batten Hives 207

Other Sessions

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Lunches
Saturday
|
12:45 pm
Batten Hives 304
Nala: Building Africa’s Next Fintech Titan
Join Benjamin Fernandes for a raw, behind-the-scenes look at building and scaling a fintech in Africa.
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Nala: Building Africa’s Next Fintech Titan

Building a fintech company that reshapes how money moves across Africa—and beyond—is no easy feat. The challenges go far beyond the headlines. Few succeed in this market. To scale, you need more than a great idea—you need resilience, sacrifice, and relentless determination.

How do you convince Silicon Valley investors to back an African startup? What does it take to challenge the status quo in the global financial system? And what are the real, behind-the-scenes battles of building something that truly lasts?

Benjamin Fernandes, Founder & CEO of NALA, has lived it all—and he’s here to tell the unfiltered truth.

Born and raised in Tanzania, Benjamin first made his mark as a national television personality. But he had bigger ambitions. Earning scholarships that took him to the U.S., he became the youngest African ever admitted to the MBA program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Yet instead of climbing the corporate ladder or staying in Silicon Valley, he took the harder road—building a company that would transform how Africans send and receive money across borders.

That company is NALA. What started as a simple remittance app has grown into one of Africa’s most ambitious fintech ventures. Today, NALA powers seamless, low-cost payments from the U.S. and Europe into Africa, cutting through the inefficiencies of the global financial system. Now, with a $40 million oversubscribed Series A funding round, and a Forbes cover story to match, NALA is expanding beyond remittances—building its own payment rails, launching a B2B platform (Rafiki), and setting its sights on global markets, including Asia and Latin America.

In this rare, behind-the-scenes conversation, Benjamin will pull back the curtain on the real journey—the wins, the losses, the breakthroughs, and the breakdowns. No filters. No fluff. Just the raw truth of what it takes to build and scale a fintech company in Africa.

If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or believer in bold ideas and Africa’s unstoppable rise, you won’t want to miss this.

Come for the insights. Stay for the inspiration.

America/New_York
Feb 15, 2025 12:45 PM
Batten Hives 304
More Info
Breakout 3
Saturday
|
3:45 pm
Spangler Auditorium
The Financing Dilemma: Are Global Powers Driving Africa’s Development or Deepening Economic Dependency?
This panel explores foreign financing’s impact on Africa—driving growth or fostering dependency—and its future sustainability.
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The Financing Dilemma: Are Global Powers Driving Africa’s Development or Deepening Economic Dependency?

This panel examines the impact of foreign financing on Africa's development, focusing on whether these cross-border investments are essential drivers of economic growth or if they risk fostering dependency and undermining sovereignty. Discussions will explore how foreign financing has shaped African economies over the past decade and what expectations lie ahead for the future. Key questions include: Are the structures of current financing agreements sustainable and beneficial for African nations? Do countries have the capacity to refinance debts? Most importantly, what does this mean for future generations, particularly in balancing opportunities for growth with the burden of long-term debt?

America/New_York
Feb 15, 2025 3:45 PM
Spangler Auditorium
More Info
Lunches
Saturday
|
12:45 pm
Batten Hives 301
Ubuntu Meets Harambee: Unveiling the New Era of African Philanthropy
This session explores how Africa’s wealth growth fuels philanthropy, with insights on strategy, impact, and policy.
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Ubuntu Meets Harambee: Unveiling the New Era of African Philanthropy

This session will examine how the growth in wealth and the expanding middle class across Africa can fuel a new model of philanthropy. Isaac will discuss a recently published, groundbreaking report that draws insights from key stakeholders and real-world examples to highlight the primary drivers behind HNWI philanthropy in Africa and the future direction of giving on the continent. A key feature of the report is how governments can catalyze strategic philanthropy through effective tax incentives. Together, we will explore how philanthropy on the continent can be maximized and how it should be structured, measured, and deployed for maximum impact

America/New_York
Feb 15, 2025 12:45 PM
Batten Hives 301