BLOCKCHAIN AFRICA CONFERENCE 2024
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Bitcoin Events hosted the 9th annual edition of the Blockchain Africa Conference on 16th and 17th March 2023. The event was held as a hybrid event, combining virtual participation with a physical venue at The Galleria in Johannesburg.
Over the years, the conference has evolved and explored various themes, starting with “Beyond the Hype,” “From Hype to Mainstream,” “Ready for Business?” and now “Ready for Business.”
The conference provided a valuable platform for in-person and virtual interaction, bringing together some of the world’s most innovative ideas, market disruptors, industry trends, and future technologies.
This event marked a significant turning point for the African crypto economy, as the recent crises have prompted conversations about responsibility and utility, leading to collaboration between regulators and innovators for a better future.
The conference Master of Ceremonies was Fifi Peters, an award-winning financial journalist, anchor at CNBC Africa, and host of SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb. The keynote speakers were Rene Reinsberg, Co-Founder of Celo and President at Celo Foundation, Briana Marbury, CEO at Interledger Foundation, Junde Yu, Head of Global Sales at Cobo, and Joaquim Pedro Antunes, Head of Crypto Engineering at Xapo Bank.
The Premier Sponsors for the event were Cobo and Xapo Private Bank.
Visit the Bitcoin Events YouTube channel here to watch the recordings of the speaker sessions and panel discussions.
The Networking and Cocktail Event was kindly sponsored by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Celo is the carbon-negative, mobile-first, EVM-compatible blockchain ecosystem leading a thriving new digital economy for all.
The workshop hosted by Celo on Day 1 of the Blockchain Africa Conference, showcased Regenerative Finance (ReFi) use cases, the Celo product roadmap and the various fundraising paths within the Celo Ecosystem.
Watch the speaker videos below or visit our YouTube channel here.
Head of Global Sales at Cobo
Keynote Address: Evolution of Digital Assets Custody
Head of Crypto Engineering at Xapo Bank
Keynote Address: The Flight to Safety – Why a Crypto Bank is More Secure than Blockchain
CEO at Interledger Foundation
Keynote Address: Financial Inclusion Around the World
Co-Founder of Celo and President at Celo Foundation
Keynote Address: Why ReFi is the Future of Web3
Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Adanian Labs
Building Blockchain Capacity for Africa
Co-CEO of EMURGO MEA
Why Web3 Investing is Important to Drive Africa’s Industrial Innovation
Founder of Adanian Labs and Afyarekod and Chairman of the African Blockchain Centre
Blockchain Technology: Bridging Web2 and Web3 for Private and Public Sectors
Director, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard – Southern, Mastercard
Mastercard’s Initiatives Around Crypto Payments
Managing Executive: Cyber banking, TymeBank
Blockchain Was Built For This
Founder of CryptoConvert
Pick-n-Pay Crypto Payments
Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation
Developing on Polkadot
Chief of Staff at Nestcoin
Crypto On and Off-Ramps in Africa
Strategy & Partnerships, Fonbnk Principal, Unicorn Growth Capital
Enabling Africa’s Web3 Economy with Fonbnk: On-Ramp & Off-Ramp Platform for Micropayments Using Prepaid Airtime
Research Group Leader at CSIR for DLT/Blockchain
Enabling Smart Regulation: Tools and Software for Crypto Asset Compliance
Founder and CEO of Interstellar Inc. and Founder of the Bantu Blockchain Foundation
The Rise of Blockchain-Powered Payment and Financial Services in Africa
CEO at Sankore 2.0 / NEAR Kenya
Why Web3 Needs Africa, and What Can You Do About It?
Mr. Issa Mohamad Soormally: Vice Chairman of the Economic Development Board and Rajiv Babooram: Lead Professional at the Economic Development Board – Mauritius
Regulatory Developments in the Digital Assets Industry in Mauritius
Chirayu Gandhi: Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, Johannesburg
Matthew Higginson: Partner at McKinsey & Company, Boston
Tokenisation – Trends and Opportunities in the Financial Sector
Seamus Rocca: CEO of Xapo Private Bank and Chris Becker: Managing Executive: Cyber banking, TymeBank
Fireside chat: Illuminating Crypto’s Way Forward Out of the Winter
Brooks Entwistle: Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Ripple and Gwera Kiwana: Founder in Residence: Crypto at MFS Africa
Ripple and MFS Africa: A Partnership Driving Crypto Adoption Through Real Use Cases
Strategic & Business Operation Partner at Welthee
The Incubation Strategy for Crypto Projects
Senior Manager, ESG and Sustainability Lead at Concordium
Blockchain Igniting a Trusted Green Transition
Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African Reserve Bank
Project Khokha: Exploring the Implications of Tokenisation in Financial Markets
Moderator: Dr. Caroline Maslo: Senior Medical Advisor at Netcare Limited
Moderator: Paula Buchel: Deloitte Africa Payments Lead
Moderator: Alex Pryor: Head of Digital Innovation at EOH
Moderator: Mandy Naidoo: Chief Compliance Officer at Yellow Card
Our global speakers are well-known thought leaders and experts in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology space.
Fifi Peters is an Award-Winning Financial Journalist and Broadcaster. She is a
Briana Marbury is the CEO at Interledger Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit organization
Rene Reinsberg is a Co-founder of Celo and currently President of the
Junde heads up the international business at Cobo. Prior to joining Cobo,
From financial emigrant to digital nomad, Joaquim Pedro Antunes has lived in
Seamus Rocca serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Xapo. He
Andrew is a public policy specialist with extensive international experience in financial
John Kamara is a Tech Entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience working
Yosuke Yoshida is the former CEO of EMURGO Japan, where EMURGO Group
Kevin is the Founder and CEO of Sankore 2.0, which operates in
Robert Brine is the Director, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard. Based
Marius is the General Manager for Africa at Luno, a leading global
Gerhard is a Senior Fintech Analyst in the South African Reserve Bank’s
Maria Pelch is a Senior Manager at Concordium, a public science-backed blockchain
Ayn du Bazane is a Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African
Maya built one of the first non-cusotidal on/offramping P2P protocols for Africa
Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation.
Felix Macharia, the CEO and Co-founder of Kotani Pay has worked in
Sunath is the Vice President – MEA for Settlemint Blockchain Ltd, Dubai.
Blockchain OG. DeFi Builder. HW Eng. First Flash Loan of the history.
Mandy Naidoo, a dynamic and motivated professional with two decades of experience
Brooks Entwistle is the SVP of Global Customer Success and Managing Director
Professor Angela Itzikowitz is an Executive in ENSafrica’s Banking and Finance department.
Gwera is a fintech and web3 expert with a particular interest on
Mark Chirnside is the CEO and Co-Founder of Xago. He is an
Duncan Muchangi is a distinguished venture capital investor with a vast experience
Hannes Wessels is the General Manager of Southern and Francophone Africa for
Cedric Ming, MLaw, CAMS, is a Senior Consultant in the Legal, Regulatory
Chris Becker is an economist turned digital banker. His role at TymeBank,
Alex Pryor is a seasoned technology executive with over 20 years of
Ernest Mbenkum is a prominent figure in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space,
Rajiv has built a 12+ years’ successful career in the field of
Joshua is Head of Africa for Bybit, which aims to build Africa’s
Chirayu is an Associate Partner, Digital Business Builder and Fintech Leader for
Gugu is the Founder of Ribbon Protocol, a Web3 health financing &
Jon is a serial entrepreneur and technology enthusiast that impressed at a
Carel de Jager is a passionate blockchain engineer, trainer, and architect building
Matt is part of McKinsey’s leadership team for Financial Services and Risk
Mr Soormally is a fellow Director of the Mauritius Institute of Directors
Paula is the Africa Payments leader for Deloitte, based in Johannesburg. She
Carel is an accomplished engineer and entrepreneur who excels at leveraging cutting-edge