The 2017 SWIFT African Regional Conference (ARC), which is being hosted in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, brings together more than 450 leading financial services executives from over 40 countries to discuss the trends that are shaping the continent’s future. The three day programme will cover the outlook for the regional economy, including processes of economic diversification and the role of fintech hubs in the real economy, as well as developments in correspondent banking, compliance and cyber security.

Further discussions will consider the role of blockchain in the development of Africa’s securities markets and the key innovations that are shaping the future of corporate treasury and trade. Now in its 24th year, the African Regional Conference is firmly established as the region’s standout annual financial sector event. Key sessions for the 2017 conference will include:

• Future of Africa’s economy – development from within
• FinTech hubs: do they have a role in the real economy?
• Cooperation and consolidation in Africa’s securities markets
• Correspondent banking – new and improved!
• Mitigating the impact of de-risking
• Cyber criminality – how can the industry fight back?
• Free pre-event workshop on the Global Payments Initiative (gpi) and CSP roadshow on 15 May

This year will also see the return of the Innotribe Startup Challenge, providing young African financial technology startups with the chance to showcase their potential and to receive expert mentoring.

James King, Africa and Middle East editor, will cover the key themes and discussions from the African Regional Conference 2017. Register today for free access to three articles every month and ensure you are fully up to date with all the topics discussed at ARC 2017.

Stanley Wachs, global head of bank engagement at SWIFT, speaks with James King about the challenges in the cross-border payments landscape and the growth of SWIFT's gpi initiative.

Round up
 

• Thierry Chilosi, head of market initiatives, EMEA, SWIFT - View from ARC 2017
• Denis Kruger, head of Sub-Sahara Africa, SWIFT - View from ARC 2017
• Idrissa Diop, head of compliance, Ecobank, Togo - View from ARC 2017
• Sam Okenye, chief information security officer, UBA - View from ARC 2017

Day 3
 

• Chris Hamilton, chief executive officer, BankservAfrica - View from ARC 2017
• Eugene Kassi N’Da, chief executive officer, Banque Nationale d’Investissement, Ivory Coast- View from ARC 2017
• Kemi Adewole, managing director, Paxhill Minerva - View from ARC 2017

Day 2
 

• Rose Mambo, chief executive officer, Central Depository & Settlement Corporation, Kenya - View from ARC 2017
• Leonida Mutuku, chief executive and founder, Intelipro - View from ARC 2017
• Regina Agyare, chief executive officer, Soronko Solutions - View from ARC 2017

Day 1
 

• Farzam Ehsani, blockchain lead, FirstRand Bank - View from ARC 2017
• Stanley Wachs, global head of bank engagement, SWIFT - View from ARC 2017

View from ARC preview
 

• African Regional Conference 2017: global payments landscape
• African Regional Conference 2017: a banking model for the future
• African Regional Conference 2017: what’s on the agenda?
• African Regional Conference 2017: economic outlook

Payments in Africa 

A new white paper from SWIFT, mapping commercial payment flows against financial flows in Africa, reveals that that intra-Africa payments and clearing is increasing in importance. It also points to an increase in the use of African currencies for cross-border payments.

Corruption, cybercrime and compliance – managing the risks 

Managing risk in financial institutions has never been more complex. As cyber-attacks continue to evolve and increase in frequency and sophistication, cyber security has become a major area of attention and investment.  Complying with the large number of global regulations that aim to combat money laundering and terrorist financing is also a challenge for the industry, both in terms of costs and resources.