The event, held at The Bungalow, Clifton was well attended by top fintechs and movers and shakers in the sector. Among those represented was Tim Masela from the South African Reserve Bank, and representatives of the Payments Association of South Africa (Pasa), PayU, Thumbsup Innovations, Bettr app and Cash Pesa, to name a few.
The main sponsor for the evening was Visa. Other proud sponsors including BDO, FiveWest, TalentintheCloud, Network International and Payfast.
“Without your support this event would not be possible,” said Finasa co-founder Darren Franks.
“Congratulations on the successful launch of the Fintech Association of South Africa,” said Miranda Perumal, Senior Director: Head of Digital Partnerships at Visa. “We believe this is an exciting platform to address fintech challenges amid the current economic landscape, as well as capitalize on the opportunities that lie in the future of fintech.”
Co-founder of the association, Ravina Ramkissoon, said she was in awe of the industry support the event had received.
“It’s industry support that has been welcomed,” she said.
“The founding of the association has seen four individuals – Darren Franks, Andres Felipe P., Lavina Ramkissoon and Kagiso Dichabe – come together to put together a vision and a framework that will be the catalyst for the unification of a voice in the industry,” said Ramkissoon.
She reiterated Finasa’s vision to bring together the South African fintech community to find sustainable solutions, create an enabling environment to stimulate innovation and promote best practices in an open, collaborative and progressive manner.
“This is something we hope to nurture and grow for the next generation,” she said.
“We want to achieve this through diversity, inclusion and fairness.
“But these are all buzzwords, right? So how do we make them really tangible at the end of the day?”
Ramkissoon said the first of three pillars to achieve this would be creating community in terms of having open and honest conversations with each other because “as we know in fintech it’s always a love-hate relationship”.
“The second pillar is a lot about innovation and impact. With that, we’re really looking at focusing talent and nurturing skills and creating access to investment. “This is a gift that we want to pass on to the next generation of fintechs that are going to come,” she said.
“Ultimately, we’re looking at advocacy, creating a place of belonging for those in the industry and speaking up for their cause.”
Managing Director of TalentintheCloud International, Darren Franks added: “The Fintech Association of South Africa is about its members. Without them coming to the table – governing and running the association – it will mean nothing. This association is for them; it is not for profit , and we’re here to help our members, to support them and help them scale globally.”
Echoing Frank’s statement, Finasa co-founder Kagisho Dichabe said: “It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but we made it.
“This is just the beginning.”
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