Digital PayExpo

Now in its 26th year · Africa's premier fintech event

DIGITAL PAYEXPO 2026

Create, connect and collaborate

Seamless Digital: Fostering Pan-African Market Expansion in the AI Era

Event Countdown

THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN PAYMENTS BEGINS SOON

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

2500+

Expected Delegates

100+

Exhibitors

30+

Years of Leadership

50+

African Countries

AFRICA'S DIGITAL PAYMENTS HUB

Africa is at a critical moment in its digital economic evolution. With over 1.4 billion people and one of the world’s youngest populations, the continent holds a powerful demographic advantage for digital innovation. Digital PayExpo has emerged as Africa’s leading platform for advancing digital payments and financial infrastructure convening policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, fintech innovators, investors, and technology providers.

The 2026 edition focuses on building a seamless, AI-enabled, pan-African digital payments ecosystem to support continental market expansion and unlock the full promise of AfCFTA.

2026 Lineup

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Converner

Dr. Adeyinka Adeyemi

Managing Director, Intermarc Consulting, Nigeria

Speaker

Akeem Lawal

Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch

Speaker

Akinbola Asalu

Chief Executive Officer, Aktivate, Nigeria

Speaker

Clara B. Arthur

Managing Director, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS)

Conference programme

TWO DAYS. INFINITE INSIGHTS.

How it's structured

6 INTEGRATED PILLARS

01

AI & PAYMENTS

Machine learning, predictive payments, fraud prevention, and AI-powered financial infrastructure across the continent.

02

CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS

Remittances, corridor payments, stablecoins, and the evolution of Pan-African financial flows.

03

OPEN BANKING

APIs, data sharing frameworks, open finance regulation, and bank-fintech collaboration models.

04

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Reaching the unbanked, mobile money growth, agent networks, and digital wallets at the base of the pyramid.

05

EMBEDDED FINANCE

Banking-as-a-Service, BNPL, embedded insurance, and finance woven into everyday digital experiences.

06

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Cloud, cybersecurity, real-time rails, interoperability, and the technical backbone of African fintech.

Our partners

2026 SPONSORS

BECOME A SPONSOR

Position your brand in front of 2,500+ decision-makers, executives, and fintech innovators. Engage Africa’s most influential payments gathering with unmatched visibility and ROI.

Where it happens

LANDMARK CENTRE

The Landmark Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos is a premier beachfront venue overlooking the Atlantic Ocean spanning 9.4 acres, easily accessible from across the city. Over 4,200m² of fully configurable space for exhibitions, banquets, and conferences.

Speaker Insights

VOICES FROM THE ECOSYSTEM

"Regulatory innovation must keep pace with technical innovation. By fostering cross-regulator collaboration, we can ensure that digital currencies and open banking frameworks are interoperable across all African borders."

Kwame Oppong

Head of FinTech & Innovation, Bank of Ghana

''The complexity of moving money across Africa is the single greatest hurdle to the AfCFTA. Our mission is to build the digital bridges that make a payment from Lagos to Nairobi feel as local as a transfer across the street.''

Olugbenga "GB" Agboola

Founder & CEO, Flutterwave

"Digital finance isn't just about the transaction; it's about the democratization of opportunity. When we build borderless systems, we aren't just moving currency—we are giving African youth and women a seat at the global economic table.."

Odunayo Eweniyi

Co-Founder & COO, PiggyVest

"Digital trade is the backbone of Africa's future economy. We are pioneering a clear framework to reduce friction for startups, ensuring Nigeria leads the continent’s digital policy revolution."

Hon. Minister Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR

Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment

Stay updated

DON'T MISS OUT

Get updates on speaker announcements, agenda releases, and Digital PayExpo 2026 news. Join fintech professionals from across Africa and beyond.

Onyeka Koldsweat Akpaida

Lead, Access to Finance and Financial Inclusion, Mastercard Foundation, Nigeria

Onyeka Koldsweat Akpaida leads Access to Finance and Financial Inclusion at one of the largest global philanthropic organisations, with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of financial services, development finance, and systems change. Her work focuses on advancing women’s economic participation and financial inclusion across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Onyeka’s approach is grounded in a simple belief: economic inclusion must precede financial inclusion.

Women need real economic pathways before financial services can meaningfully transform their lives.

She works at the intersection of policy, partnerships, and program design, focusing on building ecosystem-driven solutions that remove structural barriers to women’s economic participation. Onyeka is a conference speaker and global thought leader currently serving as the Board Chair of Rendra Foundation, and Board Member at Genesis House.

Onyeka Koldsweat Akpaida is a Women’s Economic Inclusion Architect with over 15 years of leadership at the intersection of financial services, development finance, and systems change across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her work is grounded in a simple truth: economic inclusion precedes financial inclusion. Women do not need better financial products as a first step; they need ecosystems, infrastructure, capital designed for their realities, markets that connect them, policy that protects them, and institutions willing to be redesigned around their participation.

Currently leading Access to Finance and Financial Inclusion at one of the largest global philanthropic organisations, Onyeka works at the frontier of that redesign, architecting programs that move beyond isolated interventions toward complete economic ecosystems for young women entrepreneurs across Nigeria. Her approach draws on the best of global development evidence and translates it into ground-level implementation, blended finance structures, and policy engagement across African markets.

She has influenced financial institutions across five African countries and managed over $600M international development portfolios.

Onyeka is a conference speaker and global thought leader currently serving as the Board Chair of Rendra Foundation, and Board Member at Genesis House.

Her philosophy: women are not the problem. The systems excluding them are.

Uche Ben-Uzoebo

Managing Director, SANEF, NIgeria

Uche Uzoebo is a seasoned business executive and financial services leader with over two decades of professional experience in banking, digital payments, and financial services, including more than 15 years in senior leadership roles. She is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SANEF (Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities Limited), Nigeria’s national shared infrastructure initiative for accelerating financial inclusion through agent banking.

A proven change agent, Uche brings deep expertise across digital payments, financial inclusion, agency banking, product and business development, merchant acquiring, and corporate, commercial, and retail banking. Her leadership has been instrumental in advancing secure and inclusive digital financial services, strengthening payment systems, and expanding last-mile access to financial services across underserved communities in Nigeria.

Uche works closely with regulators, financial institutions, fintechs, development partners, non-governmental organizations, private sector actors, and government agencies to drive ecosystem-wide collaboration. Through SANEF and other initiatives, she has supported economic and financial inclusion through agent networks, financial literacy programs, and innovative technology-enabled solutions.

Passionate about gender inclusion and women’s economic empowerment, Uche is a gender specialist and advocate with a strong focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and breaking structural economic barriers. As a Certified Trainer, she designs and delivers high-impact capacity-building programs for individuals, youth, women, and organizations to enable sustainable growth and performance.

Her professional credentials include Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FICA), Certified Product Manager, Licensed National Business Development Service Provider (NBDSP), LPI–IFC TPMA Certified Trainer, and certifications in Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is an esteemed member and fellow of several professional bodies, including the Association of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM), Global Women in Management (GWIM), Life Member – Women in Management, Business, and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN – Honorary Senior Member – HCIB), Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD), Fellow, Acumen West Africa, and The Microfinance Association (UK).

Uche has been recognised as a Women in Fintech Powerlist honouree (2024) and named among the 2025 Leading Ladies Africa (LLA) 100 Most Inspiring Women in Finance. With her extensive cross-functional experience and strategic leadership, she continues to be a driving force in advancing inclusive, resilient, and trusted financial systems in Nigeria and beyond.

Engr. John Nwachukwu

Chief Executive Officer, Zoracom, Nigeria

John Nwachukwu Engr. John Nwachukwu is a leading voice in Africa’s digital transformation, operating at the intersection of connectivity, payments, and intelligent infrastructure.

As Chief Strategy & Execution Officer at Zoracom, he drives the vision and execution of next-generation telecom and digital platforms that power resilient, secure, and scalable financial ecosystems.

With over 20 years of experience, John has built a reputation for turning complex infrastructure into business value—enabling seamless digital payments through robust connectivity, deep observability, and AI-driven operations (AIOps).

His work focuses on bridging the critical gaps between network performance, cybersecurity resilience, and real-time service assurance—key pillars for modern fintech and payment systems. He is a strong advocate for observability-led operations, leveraging data visibility to ensure uptime, performance, and trust across digital services. In parallel, he champions cybersecurity as a foundational layer of financial infrastructure, ensuring that innovation does not outpace protection.

Through the integration of AIOps, he is helping organizations transition from reactive operations to predictive, autonomous systems. A senior member of ATCON, John contributes actively to shaping Nigeria’s technology and payments landscape, with a forward-looking perspective on how infrastructure, policy, and innovation must align to unlock true digital inclusion. On stage,

John brings a unique blend of strategic insight and real-world execution—offering bold perspectives on how Africa can build secure, intelligent, and globally competitive payment ecosystems powered by world-class connectivity.

Speaker Highlight – Engr John Nwachukwu Engr. John Nwachukwu is not just shaping telecom infrastructure—he’s redefining how Africa’s payment ecosystem is built, secured, and scaled. As Chief Strategy & Execution Officer at Zoracom, he sits at the critical intersection of connectivity, fintech, and intelligent operations. In a world where payment failures, downtime, and cyber threats directly impact revenue and trust, John challenges the status quo—arguing that connectivity without observability is blind, and payments without cybersecurity are exposed. His work integrates deep observability, AI-driven operations (AIOps), and resilient infrastructure to enable always-on, secure digital transactions at scale.

With over 20 years in telecom and IT, he brings a bold perspective: Africa’s digital future will not be defined by access alone, but by the intelligence, security, and reliability of the networks powering its payments. Professional Details

• Full Name: Engr. John Nwachukwu

• Current Role: Chief Strategy & Execution Officer (CSEO)

• Company: Zoracom • Experience: 20+ years • Industry: Telecommunications / IT /Oil and gas

• Key Expertise: Next-Gen Telecom Strategy • Resilient Digital Infrastructure

• Payment & Fintech Enablement • Ecosystem Partnerships

• Innovation at Scale Preferred Display Name Engr.

John Nwachukwu Social Media Handles (update with exact links)

LinkedIn: John Nwachukwu | LinkedIn

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1QdNQcHcHe/ •

Website: www.zoracom.com Phone Number +234 802 661 5660

Abiola Laseinde

CEO, Edniesal Consulting | Convener, The CIO & C-Suite Projects Africa

Abiola Laseinde is an award-winning legal and business executive with over 20 years of multi-sectoral experience spanning manufacturing, banking, extractive industries, and asset management.

As the Founder and the CEO of Edniesal Consulting, Abiola leads strategic advisory services

in governance, regulatory compliance, corporate innovation, business development and event

management for clients across multiple sectors in Africa. Her work is grounded in ethical

leadership and a deep commitment to inclusive innovation.

She is also the Convener of The CIO & C-Suite Awards Africa—the continent’s premier

platform celebrating excellence in technology leadership—and the Founder of The CIO & C-

Suite Club Africa, a fast-growing network of over 1,000 senior technology executives and

decision-makers committed to shaping Africa’s digital future. She also established the Ladies in

Tech & Leadership Network (LITL) as a strategic platform for women in tech and leadership to

accelerate the conversation on the digital transformation of Africa.

Throughout her distinguished career, Abiola has demonstrated expertise in corporate governance,

regulatory compliance, business ethics, policy formulation, and strategic development. She has

held several senior leadership roles, including Group General Counsel and Head of Corporate

Services at PZ Cussons Africa, where she oversaw legal, regulatory, government affairs,

sustainability, and asset management operations across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. She also

served as Executive Secretary of the PZ Cussons Foundation, spearheading the Group’s

Good4Business (G4B) sustainability and community impact strategy. She was the Group Legal

Director/Company Secretary of The Romulus Group (owners of Petrolex Oil & Gas).

Her legal background includes notable roles as Legal Counsel, West Africa and Deputy

Company Secretary at Cadbury Nigeria Plc and Cadbury Ghana, as well as practice experience

with Bayo Shotade & Co., DN Meyer Plc, UBA Trustees, and Multiverse Resources Plc.

Abiola is a certified trainer with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), and a Fellow and former member of the Governing

Council Member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria

(ICSAN). She has also held leadership roles in several nonprofit and professional organizations,

including former Chairman of the ICSAN Lagos Chapter, former PRO of the International

Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, and Immediate Past President of Caring Sisters

Inc.—a charity committed to empowering underprivileged women and children. She currently

serves on the board of the Strap & Safe Child Foundation, which advocates for child safety in

schools, at home, and on the roads.

Abiola Laseinde is widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading voices in corporate governance

and digital transformation, and she continues to inspire a new generation of leaders across sectors.