53rd Midi de la microfinance en ligne

Midi en ligne

53rd Midi de la microfinance en ligne

Strengthening cybersecurity to boost financial inclusion in Africa

Thank you to the speakers and the 314 online participants!

This Midi took place on 13 July, 2021, on Zoom with simultaneous interpretation from English into French.

For more than a decade now, there has been a wide-ranging debate on how the digitisation process, particularly in Africa, is proving to be a valuable lever for increasing financial inclusion. The African continent has been particularly dynamic and rapid in the adoption of digital solutions for people that before had no access to formal financial instruments. The reasons for this are varied and certainly, the arrival of relatively low-cost digital solutions capable of filling a vacuum and serving a population that is on average very young (77% of the population is under 35 years old), are all elements that have favoured this trend. 

But if it is true, as the Mastercard Foundation and IFC wrote a few years ago*, that "Financial inclusion is one of Africa's great success stories over the past decade" thanks to the digitisation process, the future of this success story will also depend on the attention and resources that will be devoted to the issue of cybersecurity.

When we think of cybersecurity, we usually have a tendency to pay a lot of attention to the big players, but what are the points of attention and concrete actions that microfinance institutions, even the smallest ones, need to consider in order to manage the risks linked to the digitisation of their operations? Essentially, what can an MFI do to reduce its exposure to the risks?

This Midi will allow us to understand why cybersecurity is a key issue for the inclusive finance sector and its future development.

Our speakers, Sheila Okiro (African Development Bank) and Jean-Louis Perrier (Suricate Solutions) have extensive experiences on the topic and represent two organisations that have recently launched the African Cybersecurity Resource Center (ACRC) for Financial Inclusion, a continent-wide initiative that aims to strengthen the cyber resilience of the financial system in Africa, secure the fast development of digital financial systems, and ultimately increase financial inclusion on the continent, a key for economic and human development.

Ivo Jeník, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP will conclude the Midi by highlighting the main points that emerged from the discussion.

Discussion will be moderated by Matthew Genazzini, Coordinator of the Smallholder Safety Net Up-scaling Programme (SSNUP) at ADA

 

Speakers of this Midi

Sheila OkiroSheila Okiro, Chief Investment Officer in the Financial Intermediation and Inclusion Division and ADFI Coordinator (Africa Digital Financial inclusion) – African Development Bank (Côte d'Ivoire)

Sheila is a Chief Investment Officer in the Financial Intermediation and Inclusion Division of the African Development Bank and the Coordinator of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility. A financial services professional with 20+ years of experience, she has worked with reputable banks in Kenya including Co-operative Bank, Standard Chartered and NCBA. In this time, she held key roles as a Senior Corporate Banking Manager and Head of EChannels. Sheila has also consulted in digital financial services, helping to build capacity for banks, fintechs and regulators. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce undergraduate degree and an executive MBA from Strathmore Business School in Kenya.

Jean-Louis PerrierJean-Louis Perrier, Africa Cybersecurity Resource Center (ACRC) Programme Director and Co-founder of Suricate Solutions (Luxembourg)

Jean-Louis Perrier holds an MSc in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and an MBA from HEC Paris. He has a large experience in ICT, Security, Fraud, Operational Risk Management, Credit management, Secured Enrolment, as well as Digital Financial Services. Jean-Louis is the cofounder of Suricate Solutions, a company dedicated to Cyber Security in Africa based in Luxembourg and Senegal. Suricate has launched in Senegal in 2017 the first Mutualized Cyber Security Operation Centre for Inclusive Finance in West Africa, with support from Luxemburg Government and EIB. Today Jean-Louis is the Program Director of the Africa Cybersecurity Resource Centre for financial inclusion (ACRC), a public-private partnership consortium gathering up to over 350 experts. Based in West and East Africa, initially funded by the African Development Bank, it will provide innovative, affordable and quality cybersecurity services to the financial services provides and Central Banks. 

Ivo JenikIvo Jeník, Senior Financial Sector Specialist – CGAP (USA)

Ivo Jeník has 12 years of experience in finance, primarily in retail financial services regulation. He has led CGAP’s work on regulatory innovation (crowdfunding, regulatory sandboxes), capacity building for policy makers (regulation and supervision of digital financial services) and emerging business models in banking across continents. Before joining CGAP, Ivo worked in the Responsible Financial Access team at the World Bank, where he specialized in financial consumer protection and alternative dispute resolution. His professional experience spans across both the private and public sector, including serving as a compliance officer at an investment company and as Head of the Collective Investment Department at the Czech Financial Ombudsman. Ivo has a Master’s degree in Law from Columbia Law School in New York and a Master’s degree in Law from Charles University in Prague.

Matthew GenazziniMatthew Genazzini, Programme Coordinator SSNUP – ADA (Luxembourg)

Matthew Genazzini has 11 years of experience in development finance working for the Microinsurance Network and ADA. He has a BA in Contemporary History from the University of Sussex and an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of London. He has experience managing capacity building and product diversification projects for financial institutions, with a particular focus on microinsurance. Matthew managed for 5 years the Technical Support for MFIs unit in ADA, which aims to strengthen financial institutions through the provision of financial and technical assistance services. In 2020, he changed post and now coordinates the Smallholder Safety Net Up-scaling Programme (SSNUP).

The "Midis de la microfinance en ligne" are digital conferences that raise the awareness of the Luxembourg and international public on a given theme in the field of financial inclusion.

This 53rd Midi de la microfinance is organised with the support of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and the InFiNe.lu network. Banque de Luxembourg is a historical partner of the Midis

Since 2006, our partner organisation BRS is organizing the Microfinance Lunchbreak sessions in Brussels. About 20 sessions have taken place so far. For more information: www.microfinancelunchbreak.be 

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