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C-level Executives, industry experts, policymakers and government officials have converged at the Huawei 2021 East Africa BFSI Summit. The summit aims to address the current challenges, business opportunities and identify solutions aimed at shaping the future of fintech.

In attendance were the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Deputy Governor, Sheila M’Mbijjewe, Chairman Kenya Bankers Association, John Gachora, CEO I&M Bank, Kihara Maina, President of the Enterprise Business Group (EBG) Huawei, Jovan Liao, among other key guests and speakers.

The summit aimed at exploring how financial institutions in different stages of digital transformation can move towards Intelligent Finance.

As digital technologies, the internet and mobile communications become more integrated with the financial services industry, financial transaction modes and service models are evolving. Digital, mobile, and intelligent financial inclusion have become significant trends. The growth of fintech has transformed lives and economies, unleashing innovations and propelling an upsurge of financial inclusion across the region.

Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated growth in the finance sector, with an increase in mobile money transfers, internet banking among other areas.

“The pandemic has certainly changed the consumer and business behavior in terms of consumption and subscription of banking and financial service solutions. Most of these changes have been occasioned by new technologies that have emerged and that are sure to be with us in the long term,” stated Mr. John Gachora.

“Kenya is very special in what it’s been able to achieve in digital transformation. Going forward, we want to keep that leadership position. Research has revealed that one in ten transactions in the world, on digital and particularly digital payments, is done by a Kenyan,” stated Sheila M’Mbijjewe in her remarks.

In this regard, Huawei partnered with Murong Technology, a global provider in digital IT solutions, to provide a wealth of software products and solutions for customers within the financial sector. This includes banking, insurance funds, and securities, among others. Under this partnership, Murong and Huawei jointly released the digital core banking system, which is a one-stop solution for end-to-end digital banking services.

In this rapidly developing digital economy, a variety of new services including online trading, digital logistics, mobile payments, and remote communications are gaining prominence in the wider national economy and in people’s daily lives.

Like many enterprises, financial firms are leveraging real-time and big data analytics to make faster business decisions and interact with customers more effectively. Banks continue to make significant progress regarding digital transformation, with some banks focusing on the retail business, mobile platforms or open banking.