Kenya’s Central bank delays Afro-Asia fintech festival until July 2021

By Steve Umidha

Fear over the spread of coronavirus has seen the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) delay a high profile forum that was slated in July this year, adding to the list of cancellations the country has seen since the first case of the coronavirus was reported in March.

CBK in a statement said that it had cancelled this year’s Afro-Asia Fintech Festival 2020 (AAFF 2020) that was to take place in Nairobi in July this year following the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and instead the form will be held in July 21 2020.

The postponement, the banking regulator said followed careful consideration by partners and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) owing to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the utmost importance of the health and safety of the festival participants.

As the number of coronavirus cases continue to climb, so too does the number of high profile conferences and events opting to relocate, postpone or even hang up the lanyards altogether, with this move denying the country the much needed revenues from such conferences.

The pandemic had also seen the organizers of the third edition of Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Global Gathering, the largest science and innovation gathering in Africa, put the gathering on hold over health concerns of attendees.

“We have taken the difficult decision to postpone NEF Global Gathering 2020 to a date later this year,” Nathalie Munyampenda, Managing Director of the Kigali-based initiative said in a statement in March.

Another high-profile meeting, the 2020 edition of the biennial global event which was scheduled to be held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) from March 10 to 13 with 2500 delegates from 80 countries around the world was also cancelled.

Also cancelled was the Human Heredity and Health in Africa consortium on its 15th consortium meeting that was to happen at the Emara Ole Sereni in Nairobi from March 8 to 13 over similar concerns.

The new cancellation of this year’s Afro-Asia Fintech Festival 2020 is a major blow to the country considering the inaugural AAFF 2019 had been held in Nairobi from July 15-16, 2019 and launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and was the first of its kind to be held in the region, seeking to explore sustainable financial services innovations from emerging Afro-Asian markets.

The key outcomes were the signing of a Fintech Co-operation agreement between CBK and MAS and the launch of the Global Fintech Hackcelerator@Kenya (Hackathon).

The Hackathon that attracted 45 fintechs from across Africa, Asia and Europe sought to provide a platform for start-ups to showcase sustainable financial services innovations.

The two winners of the Hackathon, Kwara of Kenya and Bureau Vente of Uganda showcased their solutions at the Global Fintech Hackcelerator at the world’s largest fintech festival, Singapore Fintech Festival in November last year.

“The pandemic has brought with it challenges as well as opportunities for fintechs. We are pleased to note that some of the fintechs have partnered with banks during this pandemic period as banks accelerate their digitization strategies,” CBK said in a statement, adding that it remains committed to maximizing the opportunities and minimizing risks from innovation and creating an enabling environment for solutions that address the needs of the citizenry.