Speakers

Our global speakers are well-known thought leaders and experts in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology space. The majority of speakers will participate in-person in Johannesburg.

Fifi Peters (Master of Ceremonies) Award Winning Financial Journalist | Anchor at CNBC Africa | Host of SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb

Fifi Peters is an Award-Winning Financial Journalist and Broadcaster. She is a

Briana Marbury (Keynote Speaker) CEO at Interledger Foundation

Briana Marbury is the CEO at Interledger Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit organization

Rene Reinsberg (Keynote Speaker) Co-Founder of Celo and President at Celo Foundation

Rene Reinsberg is a Co-founder of Celo and currently President of the

Junde Yu (Keynote Speaker) Head of Global Sales, Cobo

Junde heads up the international business at Cobo. Prior to joining Cobo,

Joaquim Pedro Antunes (Keynote Speaker) Head of Crypto Engineering at Xapo Bank

From financial emigrant to digital nomad, Joaquim Pedro Antunes has lived in

Seamus Rocca CEO of Xapo Private Bank

Seamus Rocca serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Xapo. He

Andrew Whitworth Policy Director, EMEA at Ripple

Andrew is a public policy specialist with extensive international experience in financial

John Kamara Founder of Adanian Labs and Afyarekod and Chairman of the African Blockchain Centre

John Kamara is a Tech Entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience working

Yosuke Yoshida Co-CEO of EMURGO MEA

Yosuke Yoshida is the former CEO of EMURGO Japan, where EMURGO Group

Kevin Imani CEO at Sankore 2.0 / NEAR Kenya

Kevin is the Founder and CEO of Sankore 2.0, which operates in

Ayn Du Bazane Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African Reserve Bank and Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group’s (IFWG) Crypto Asset Regulatory (CAR) Working Group

Ayn du Bazane is a Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African

Robert Brine Director, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard - Southern, Mastercard

Robert Brine is the Director, Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard. Based

Gerhard van Deventer Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African Reserve Bank

Gerhard is a Senior Fintech Analyst in the South African Reserve Bank’s

Maria Eisner Pelch Senior Manager, ESG and Sustainability Lead at Concordium

Maria Pelch is a Senior Manager at Concordium, a public science-backed blockchain

Cyril Cesar Strategic & Business Operation Partner at Welthee

Maya Caddle Chief of Staff at Nestcoin

Maya built one of the first non-cusotidal on/offramping P2P protocols for Africa

Bill Laboon Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation

Bill Laboon is the Head of Education and Grants at Web3 Foundation.

Felix Macharia CEO and Co-founder of Kotani Pay

Felix Macharia, the CEO and Co-founder of Kotani Pay has worked in

Sunath Kolazhi Vice President MEA at Settlemint

Sunath is the Vice President – MEA for Settlemint Blockchain Ltd, Dubai.

Julien Bouteloup Founder of Stake Capital Group (Stake DAO, BlackPool Finance, rekt.news) and Curve Core Team Member

Blockchain OG. DeFi Builder. HW Eng. First Flash Loan of the history.

Mandy Naidoo Chief Compliance Officer at Yellow Card

Mandy Naidoo, a dynamic and motivated professional with two decades of experience

Brooks Entwistle Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Ripple

Brooks Entwistle is the SVP of Global Customer Success and Managing Director

Prof. Angela Itzikowitz Executive in ENSafrica’s Banking and Finance Department

Professor Angela Itzikowitz is an Executive in ENSafrica’s Banking and Finance department.

Gwera Kiwana Founder in Residence: Crypto at MFS Africa

Gwera is a fintech and web3 expert with a particular interest on

Mark Chirnside CEO and Co-Founder at Xago

Mark Chirnside is the CEO and Co-Founder of Xago. He is an

Duncan Muchangi Strategy & Partnerships, Fonbnk Principal, Unicorn Growth Capital

Duncan Muchangi is a distinguished venture capital investor with a vast experience

Hannes Wessels Country Head of South Africa at Binance

Hannes Wessels is the Country Head of South Africa for Binance, the

Irene Kiwia Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Adanian Labs

Cedric Ming Senior Consultant, Legal, Regulatory & Compliance at EY , EY Switzerland

Cedric Ming, MLaw, CAMS, is a Senior Consultant in the Legal, Regulatory

Chris Becker Managing Executive: Cyber banking, TymeBank

Chris Becker is a macro strategist turned cyber banker. He led an

Alex Pryor Head of Digital Innovation at EOH

Alex Pryor is a seasoned technology executive with over 20 years of

Ernest Mbenkum Founder and CEO of Interstellar Inc. and Founder of the Bantu Blockchain Foundation

Ernest is a Cameroonian/Canadian entrepreneur, inventor, investor, and computer scientist who has

Rajiv Babooram Lead Professional at the Economic Development Board - Mauritius

Rajiv has built a 12+ years’ successful career in the field of

Joshua Chi-Yan Yau Head of Africa at Bybit

Joshua is Head of Africa for Bybit, which aims to build Africa’s

Chirayu Gandhi Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, Johannesburg

Chirayu is an Associate Partner, Digital Business Builder and Fintech Leader for

Gugu Newman Nyathi Founder at Ribbon Protocol

Gugu is the Founder of Ribbon Protocol, a Web3 health financing &

Jonathan Ovadia Co-founder and CEO at OVEX

Jon is a serial entrepreneur and technology enthusiast that impressed at a

Carel de Jager Research Group Leader at CSIR for DLT/Blockchain

Carel de Jager is a passionate blockchain engineer, trainer, and architect building

Dr. Caroline Maslo Senior Medical Advisor at Netcare Limited

Matthew Higginson Partner at McKinsey & Company, Boston

Matt is part of McKinsey’s leadership team for Financial Services and Risk

Mr. Issa Mohamad Soormally Vice Chairman of the Economic Development Board

Mr Soormally is a fellow Director of the Mauritius Institute of Directors

Marius Reitz General Manager for Africa at Luno

Marius is the General Manager for Africa at Luno, a leading global

Paula Buchel Deloitte Africa Payments Lead

Paula is the Africa Payments leader for Deloitte, based in Johannesburg. She

Carel van Wyk Founder of CryptoConvert

Carel is an engineer and entrepreneur who enjoys leveraging cutting-edge technologies, like