The Ibukun Awosika Leadership Academy (IALA) is proud to announce the debut edition of African Marketplace Dubai 2025, a platform that aggregates the finest export-ready SMEs, brands, and products from Africa and the Caribbean, spanning fashion, agribusiness, tech, textiles, creative arts, and across multiple sectors — and connects them to the world. Scheduled to hold from November 12–15, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, this four-day exhibition is more than just a marketplace; it’s a global stage designed to unlock opportunity, deepen intra-Africa and diaspora trade, and build a long-term pipeline for economic and cultural exchange.African Marketplace Dubai is positioned as a response to one of the continent’s most urgent challenges — sustainable access to global markets. The event is designed to provide participants with a dynamic mix of product exhibitions, hands-on workshops, immersive cultural showcases, and focused business development sessions. While all attendees will be able to explore the depth and diversity of African and Caribbean innovation, dedicated networking opportunities will be tailored specifically for exhibitors to connect directly with distributors, investors, and cross-border partners. Speaking on the upcoming event, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Founder of IALA, said: “African Marketplace Dubai is our opportunity to introduce the best of our continent and the Caribbean to the world in a powerful way. This isn’t just about products on display, it’s about shifting perception, opening doors, and showing that our excellence belongs at the centre of global conversations. Dubai gives us a global stage that’s both strategic and symbolic — a place where over 200 nationalities live, trade, and influence culture.”Dubai’s status as a global business and tourism hub, with world-class infrastructure and seamless trade routes, makes it the ideal host city. In partnership with the Department of Economy and Tourism of Dubai, this initiative seeks to open new doors for African and Caribbean SMEs, ensuring long-term visibility, access to capital, and international partnerships.African Marketplace Dubai 2025 is expected to feature over 250 exhibitors and attract thousands of visitors, creating unmatched opportunities for brand exposure, deal flow, and cultural diplomacy.EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN To participate or learn more, visit: www.theafricanmarketplace.org For media inquiries, sponsorship opportunities, or partnership proposals, please contact: info@theafricanmarketplace.org

Freetown, Sierra Leone | June 6, 2025 — As part of its sustained efforts to accelerate Sierra Leone’s digital finance transformation, Interswitch, one of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, in collaboration with the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) has successfully hosted the second edition of the Sierra Leone Fintech Forum, bringing together key stakeholders across the financial ecosystem to chart a course toward broader access, inclusion, and growth through digital payments.

The event, which held at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown, convened senior representatives from both the public and private sectors, including regulators, banks, fintechs, mobile money operators, and development organisations, for a day of high-level dialogue and engagement.

Building on the success of the inaugural edition, this year’s theme, “Access, Inclusion and Growth – Deepening Digital Payments in Sierra Leone,” reflected a shared commitment to building a more inclusive and resilient financial system through collaboration and innovation.

Delivering the keynote address titled “Building on Progress: Expanding Access, Driving Inclusion, and Fueling Growth for National Prosperity,” Akeem Lawal, Managing Director, Payment Processing and Switching (Interswitch Purepay), reinforced the company’s commitment to co-creating value in the markets it serves.

“Financial inclusion goes beyond launching more apps or issuing more cards, it’s about solving real problems with solutions that are scalable, secure, and grounded in local realities. Since the first edition of the Fintech Forum, Sierra Leone has made clear progress, with strong mobile penetration and a forward-looking Central Bank. What’s needed now is execution that is sustained, coordinated, and responsive to the realities on the ground.

By applying lessons from multiple African markets and tailoring them to local needs, Interswitch is committed to supporting Sierra Leone’s digital transformation. That means enabling agency networks that function effectively, driving merchant acceptance to reduce cash reliance, and working closely with regulators to co-create policy that drives real progress and inclusive growth.”

In his remarks, Dr. Ibrahim Stevens, Governor, Bank of Sierra Leone, commended Interswitch’s continued investment in the country’s digital transformation journey. He highlighted the Central Bank’s commitment to driving regulatory innovation and building an inclusive ecosystem. He said,

“The Bank of Sierra Leone recognises the critical role of digital financial services in building a more inclusive and resilient economy. Events like the Sierra Leone Fintech Forum, in collaboration  with innovators like Interswitch, help accelerate the adoption of technologies that bring more Sierra Leoneans into the formal financial system. We remain committed to creating an enabling regulatory environment that fosters innovation while ensuring consumer protection and financial stability.”

A key highlight of the forum was the live demonstration of Interswitch’s Agency Banking solutions, designed to bridge the gap between traditional banking infrastructure and underserved and remote communities. Attendees experienced firsthand how the platform supports secure, efficient, and accessible financial transactions across Sierra Leone through a decentralised network of agents.

The event featured a series of insightful panel discussions, interactive Question & Answer sessions, and networking opportunities, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across the ecosystem. As mobile connectivity expands and Sierra Leone’s digital agenda accelerates, the forum provided a timely platform to align actors, surface practical solutions, and build collective momentum toward a more inclusive financial system.

The Sierra Leone Fintech Forum reaffirmed Interswitch’s role as a catalyst for digital finance transformation in the region and across the continent. As the financial landscape continues to evolve, the company remains committed to supporting the country’s financial inclusion goals through innovation, shared infrastructure, and strategic partnerships that power a more inclusive, digital and future-ready economy.

Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, has emphasized the imperative for African technology players to champion locally relevant innovation that are tailored to the continent’s realities and nuances.

Speaking at the recently concluded 2025 Africa Soft Power (ASP) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, Key industry players and leaders at the Summit 2025 summarily called for greater economic self-determination and stronger artificial intelligence governance as the continent seeks to reduce dependence on foreign capital and prevent unregulated technology deployment.

The 4th edition of the two-day summit, running through May 22nd – 23rd, brought together thought leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and other African nations to address leadership, investment, and technological development challenges.

The discussions at the summit highlighted the current reality that most African startup capital Decision-makers remain external to the Continent, limiting the ecosystem’s potential, and called for unified perspective towards challenging this longstanding reality.

Speaking at the summit, Interswitch Group, represented by Bernard Kinara, Country General Manager in Kenya asserted that the company, as a fintech leader proudly rooted in Africa remains resolutely championing technology solutions that connect and empower individuals, businesses, and communities, to drive prosperity across the continent. He noted that beyond her role as a pioneering innovator in the digital payments & commerce space, Interswitch is always enthused at opportunities to advocate and advance the conversation around digital transformation geared towards enabling financial inclusion.

Speaking on a pivotal panel discussion themed “Inclusive Leadership & Disruptions: Shaping Growth and Navigating Global Shifts”, He highlighted Interswitch’s impact – being the continent’s first fintech/payments unicorn – in strengthening cross-ecosystem linkages and partnerships by bringing together fintechs, banks and other financial service delivery enablers; in advancing borderless payments and cross-country value-exchange; and in driving required affirmative action on the social development front through the creation of opportunities for women and youth through corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives; such as #InterswitchSPAK, in line with the organization’s corporate purpose – inspiring Africa to greatness through innovation, value-creation and excellence.

He furthermore highlighted AI’s potential to democratize access through natural language coding tools that break down gender and linguistic barriers, while cautioning against biases in AI systems.

The summit also discussed topical themes such as AI Models, Sovereignty, and Democratizing Access, and highlighted the necessity of policy autonomy in the global digital landscape, citing successful regulatory actions by governments in Uganda and Nigeria against multinational tech platforms.

Philip Ikeazor, Director General of Financial System Stability at Nigeria’s Central Bank, emphasized that anti-money laundering and fraud detection standards are becoming mandatory, with AI supporting but policy leading these efforts.

However, challenges remain around weak data protection and low digital literacy, which policy must address. The AI governance panel emphasized AI literacy for policymakers and the public, advocating tailored education approaches to ensure that AI tools solve practical problems for farmers, creatives, and civil servants. A technologist noted the paradox of rising public AI awareness alongside skepticism, reinforcing the need for transparent, trustworthy AI systems.

The Africa Soft Power Summit 2025 assembled Leaders, Innovators, and Creatives from across the Continent to address challenges in leadership, infrastructure, and technological development, with participants calling for frameworks that prioritize African decision-making and economic sovereignty. The discussions covered infrastructure, digital finance, and artificial intelligence, with a consistent theme of moving beyond external dependence toward sustainable, locally-driven development models.

Interswitch remains a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitization of payments and commerce across Africa. Founded in Nigeria in 2002, Interswitch disrupted the traditional cash-based payments value chain in Nigeria by supporting the introduction of electronic payments processing and switching services, and launched Verve, Africa’s premier and leading domestic EMV-standard chip and pin payments card scheme.

Today, Interswitch is a leading player with critical mass across Africa’s developing financial ecosystem and is active across the payments value chain, providing a full suite of omni-channel payment solutions. Interswitch’s vision is to make payments a seamless part of everyday life in Africa, and its mission is to create transaction solutions that enable individuals and communities to prosper across Africa. Interswitch’s broad network and robust payments platform have been instrumental to the development of the Nigerian payments ecosystem and provide Interswitch with the infrastructure to expand across Africa.