Stanbic IBTC has just concluded the 10th edition of the Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference (WAIC). The three-day event which held recently in Lagos was themed: “Prism of Possibilities.”
The conference provides a platform for bringing together foreign and local institutional investors, fund managers, regulators and policy makers, bankers, businessmen and captains of industry among others, to engage and explore growth potentials and opportunities in Nigeria.
Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Dr. Demola Sogunle, said this year’s edition was geared towards deliberately showcasing investment potentials in Nigeria. He added: “The West Africa Investors’ Conference serves as a veritable platform to match investors to investment opportunities. The idea is to be able to showcase the potential investments inherent in Nigeria to individual and institutional investors, who are looking to invest in the different sectors in the Nigerian economy.”
The highlight of the opening day of the conference was a panel discussion on advancing fintech frontiers in Nigeria. According to Sogunle, this year’s edition of the conference dedicated its panel session to fintechs due to their significant role in Nigerian economy.
He added: “The Nigerian financial system as we know it is being disrupted with the introduction of innovative products and services. There is also the need for fintechs to see potential areas of alignment with financial institutions. We hosted this panel session to create a platform for fintechs to interact with serious minded frontier-market focused fund managers for possible areas of engagement. We also carefully chose the panelists based on their professionalism and years of expertise.
Speakers at the panel session were Akeem Lawal, Divisional CEO, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Olugbenga Agboola, Co-Founder, Flutterwave and Iniabasi Akpan, Country Manager, O’Pay.
