- Who is Tapfuma Musewe?
I am an international trade and investment professional who is very passionate about Africa’s socio-economic development. I am currently based in Toronto, Canada, where I was raised, but most of my working life has been on the continent – mainly in South Africa and Ghana. While there, I worked in community development, business development, entrepreneurship and market intelligence. Since coming back to Canada, I have founded two organisations, Eschaton Solutions and Afrifursa, both of which are focused on increasing international engagement with African markets. I am also a Managing Director of a private equity firm called Raygan Mills, with roots in West and Central Africa. We invest in growth companies across Africa.
2. What sparked your passion for Fintech?
My interest was sparked by the realisation that these days, almost anyone who touches money is touched by fintech. To me it’s amazing how fintech in Africa can reach the most remote populations geographically but also those who are socio-economically distanced from traditional financial services; in other words, those who cannot access loans, bank accounts and other offerings from a traditional bank because they do not qualify. In this way, fintech’s ability to address some of Africa’s deepest challenges and disparities has really fascinated me.
3. What are the major contributions of the Afrifursa Fintech Summit in the African business sector?
The Afrifursa Fintech Summit will help African founders, investors, incubators and other fintech ecosystems players access a new market. It will introduce them to their counterparts in Canadian fintech ecosystems, with the intent of establishing channels of collaboration. Practically, this could be accessing new talent to help build an African fintech, it could be accessing new investors, it could be the creation of a best practices exchange around open banking policy. The permutations of how this summit will enable the African business sector to realise benefits are quite varied. The approach of making sure that this is an ecosystem initiative, was to ensure that African and Canadian businesses can easily find the support they require to make global collaboration a reality.
4. How will the work in the Afrifursa Fintech Summit reduce the barriers and forge direct linkages in Africa?
We have some very practical ways of reducing the barriers and forging direct linkages between Canada and Africa in the fintech space. The platform we are using allows attendees to build a profile, browse other profiles and send requests to other attendees to connect. The virtual exhibition space is also very robust and facilitates great engagement with the organisations represented.
The panels are also very thoughtfully selected, so that influencers and leaders representing both regions are able to interrogate synergies in their respective fintech industries. I believe that this will highlight the way forward for collaboration and also demonstrate that synergies can be identified when ecosystems connect. Ultimately, this will affect people’s perceptions of one another, by showing them that collaboration is possible and can be fruitful. These barriers formed through perceptions can be very costly, so addressing these will go a long way in providing value to our stakeholders.
5. When will the Afrifursa Fintech Summit be held?
The event will be held next Wednesday 22 September 2021. We tried to find a time that is not too early for Canadian attendees and not too late for African attendees, so we are hosting it from 9 am to 1 pm ET/ 3 pm to 7 pm CAT.
6. How can people register to attend?
Registration is free and is a simple process. Please visit to register: https://pheedloop.com/register/AfriFin/attendee/. Space is limited, so better to do it sooner rather than later!