SWIFT African Regional Conference 2015

The theme for this year’s conference is “Africa – Seizing the Opportunity”. By 2050, sub-Sahara Africa will have a larger and younger workforce than India or China. The continent is blessed with plentiful land, much of it still uncultivated, and an abundance of natural resources. Combine these and there is potential for global competitive advantage. Transforming this opportunity into success will take political will and pan-African cooperation. Existing regional integration projects and other initiatives demonstrate that these drivers are there, so it really is Africa’s time!

SWIFT’s African Regional Conference (ARC) is the perfect platform to bring key thinkers together to discuss these and other topics. Now in its 22nd year, ARC attracts policy makers, industry leaders and the broader financial community from across the African continent. Typically attracting up to 500 delegates from around 40 countries, ARC is a unique forum for networking, education, discussion and debate – all within a collaborative environment. This is truly a community event.

The programme has been designed to combine plenary sessions and interactive debates with targeted work sessions and networking events so that delegates can make the most of this unique community.

Discussions will focus on what needs to be done to boost intra-African trade and economic growth, and look at the evolution of African securities markets and the growth requirements of African corporates as they expand across the continent. We will also look at the role of financial technology innovation in Africa.

With the aim of leveraging the hands-on experience of projects in Africa, one session will look at the rapid growth of the SADC regional payment system and ask how this experience could be replicated in other region. The regulatory discussion, meanwhile, will find out how African banks are taking a proactive stance in coping with new financial regulations, moving quickly to adopt global best practice in the field of sanctions compliance.

In 2015, for the first time, ARC will host an African round of the SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge. The Startup Challenge will bring together young African financial technology companies from across the continent, introducing them to venture capitalists and angel investors, and taking the winners to compete in the grand final at Sibos 2015 in Singapore.
Make sure you are part of the growing ARC community in 2015 for a unique industry discussion.