Discover the 2026 Agenda | Money20/20 Middle East

12:00 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 12:00 PM—12:30 PM (30 min)

Panel Discussion : Raising Capital in a More Disciplined World

Global capital is becoming more disciplined, with investors placing greater emphasis on resilience, governance, sustainable growth and clear paths to profitability. As economic uncertainty reshapes investment decisions, raising capital is no longer just about having a compelling vision, it requires institutional credibility, strategic positioning and alignment with evolving investor priorities across both public and private markets.

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 12:00 PM—12:00 PM ()

Opening Remarks : MC Welcome

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 12:00 PM—12:05 PM (5 min)

Opening Remarks : MC Welcome

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 12:00 PM—12:10 PM (10 min)

Opening Remarks : MC Welcome

The New Experience

12:10 PM

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 12:10 PM—12:30 PM (20 min)

Live Demo : Agentic Checkout: When AI Shops for You

A customer issues one instruction to an AI agent. The demonstration follows everything that happens after it: merchant selection, credential use, tokenisation, spending controls, authorisation, and then the unglamorous end of the process where a refund, a dispute and a liability decision all have to land somewhere.Every decision point stays visible.What the run makes concrete is the distance between an AI system that recommends a purchase and one that completes it. It ends where every autonomous transaction ends: who is responsible when the buyer is a bot?

12:30 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 12:30 PM—01:00 PM (30 min)

Fireside Chat : Who Pays for the Next Financial System? Financing the Infrastructure Behind Financial Transformation

Financial infrastructure doesn’t build itself. From digital identity and instant payment networks to cross-border corridors and digital public infrastructure, every transformation depends on long-term investment, strong public-private partnerships and sustainable funding models.This session explores how governments, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, multilateral organisations and private investors are working together to finance the next generation of financial infrastructure. Where should public capital lead? Where should private capital follow? And what partnership models are proving most effective at delivering infrastructure that scales across countries and regions?

Speaker

Hortense Mudenge

CEO | Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC)

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 12:30 PM—01:00 PM (30 min)

Debate : Who Should Allocate Capital?

AI is increasingly influencing how capital is raised, allocated, and managed across venture investing, private markets, and corporate finance. As intelligent systems become embedded in investment workflows, from sourcing opportunities and evaluating risk to executing allocation decisions - they are reshaping the mechanics of capital formation.The challenge is no longer whether AI will participate in investment decisions, but how responsibility, governance, and human oversight should evolve alongside it.

Speakers

Fariha Ansari Javed

Partner | Stride Ventures

Ivan Chelebiev

CEO | Chicago Global

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 12:30 PM—01:00 PM (30 min)

Panel Discussion : Reimagining Payments, Embedded by Design

Mobility platforms, marketplaces and consumer applications are no longer partnering their way to payments. They are building wallets, checkout and merchant services inside their own products.That moves the competitive question. Holding the licence matters less than controlling the experience wrapped around it, and platforms are now taking ownership of checkout, merchant services and working capital in one go.Operators who have already pushed financial services inside a broader digital journey give the unedited version: what had to be built rather than bought, which partnerships carried real weight, where implementation stalled, and how owning the money layer changed what customers expect of them.

1:00 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 01:00 PM—01:20 PM (20 min)

Panel Discussion : Empowering Growth: Women’s Rising Role in Fintech Investment

As the fintech sector accelerates globally, women are playing an increasingly prominent role as founders, investors, and decision-makers. We explore the progress made in expanding women’s access to capital and leadership in fintech, alongside the opportunities ahead for building an even more inclusive and competitive innovation economy.

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 01:00 PM—01:40 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Who Will Build Banking for the Next Billion Customers?

As financial services become embedded into everyday digital experiences, banks, fintechs, telecoms, super apps, marketplaces and digital platforms are competing to become the customer’s primary financial relationship.Some are expanding beyond banking, while others are integrating identity, payments, lending and wallets into messaging, mobility, e-commerce and other platforms people already use. As finance becomes part of the experience rather than a destination, this discussion asks who is best positioned to serve the next billion customers, how the boundaries between banking, commerce and technology will evolve, and what it will take to earn their trust.

Speakers

Ahmet Kayhan

Chief Payments and Digital Assets Officer | VEON Group Holding Company Ltd

Mohamed Roushdy

Chief Technology Officer | Reem Finance

Glauber Mota

CEO - Brazil | Revolut

1:10 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 01:10 PM—01:40 PM (30 min)

Deep Dive : Build Everything or Build One Thing Brilliantly?

Every bank wants an ecosystem. Every fintech wants a platform. Every platform wants financial services. Yet many of the industry’s biggest strategic bets have proven far harder to execute than expected.In this unfiltered discussion, leaders who have built banks, fintechs and digital platforms will challenge conventional wisdom and share the decisions they'd rethink today. From overestimating customer loyalty to underestimating execution complexity, no assumption is off limits. As AI and embedded finance reshape the competitive landscape, this is a rare opportunity to hear what really creates lasting advantage, and what the industry needs to stop believing.

Speakers

Farid Huseynov

CEO | Bir Ecosystem

Yasar Ahmad

Founder | OVO Lab

1:20 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 01:20 PM—02:00 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : “Beyond Remittances” Building Diaspora Capital Corridors, From money movement to investment ecosystems.

Remittances have transformed how money moves across borders, but can they become a catalyst for long-term investment and economic development? This session explores how governments, financial institutions, fintechs and diaspora communities can move beyond transfers to build investment ecosystems that channel global capital into entrepreneurship, infrastructure and wealth creation. From digital investment platforms to cross-border savings products and policy innovation, we’ll examine how financial infrastructure can unlock lasting economic impact.

Speakers

Benjamin Fernandes

CEO & Founder | NALA

Miranda Naidoo

Co-founder & CEO | Scale

Tolani Abere

Influencer & Investment Professional | Tolani Talks Money

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 01:20 PM—01:40 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Beyond Spreadsheets: How Family Offices Are Modernising Wealth Management

Family offices are evolving to manage increasingly complex portfolios across venture capital, private markets, public equities and alternative assets.As new technologies reshape investment operations, family offices are rethinking how they source deals, conduct due diligence, monitor portfolios and make investment decisions.From operational efficiency to governance, data management and next-generation wealth infrastructure, what will define the family office of the future?

Speaker

Mosbah Kahaleh

Director | Al Rajhi Partners

1:40 PM

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 01:40 PM—02:00 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Beyond Claims: Insurance That Finds You

Insurance is leaving the moment of purchase and moving into the flow of ordinary life: a trip booked, a car started, a checkout completed, a health target missed.Consumers now expect cover to surface when it is relevant, act before a loss becomes a crisis and adjust to how they actually live. Meeting that expectation means running on behavioural, wellness and connected-device data, which brings its own problems around transparency, fairness and whether anyone genuinely understands the protection they hold.The conversation follows the shift from reactive claims handling towards prevention, continuous value and cover that appears exactly when it’s needed, becoming another invisible layer of the digital customer journey.

Speaker

Faisal Alrajhi

Co-Founder & CEO | Almatar Company

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 01:40 PM—02:10 PM (30 min)

FIRESIDE : Beyond The Banks: Working Capital and the Alternative Financing Gap

Banks are retreating from mid-market and SME lending; private credit and fintech rails are filling the gap, with supply chain and working capital finance as the on-ramp.

Speaker

Walter Gontarek

CEO | Channel Capital

1:50 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 01:50 PM—02:30 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : No Credit History? No problem. Fintech’s Bet on the Excluded

Explore how fintechs are aggressively dismantling traditional credit gatekeepers using alternative data, AI, and mobile-first models. From smartphone behaviour and cash-flow signals to embedded lending and BNPL, these innovations are extending credit to millions previously locked out

Speakers

Tewfik Cassis

Chief Product Officer (CPO) | Lean Technologies

Omar Ramadan

CEO of GCC | MNT Halan

2:00 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 02:00 PM—02:30 PM (30 min)

Panel Discussion : Trust Handoff: Every payment is a chain of people vouching for each other

A single transaction passes through banks, aggregators, networks, apps and regulators, each one trusting the last. When it works, nobody sees it. When it breaks, everyone argues about whose fault it was. This session pulls apart that chain: who actually carries liability at each step, how those handoffs are being renegotiated as payments get faster and more embedded, and what happens to accountability when a transaction crosses five parties in under a second.

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 02:00 PM—02:40 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : The Checkout Is the New Bank Branch: How Commerce Became Banking

The moment of purchase is becoming the new front door to financial services. What was once a simple payment now opens access to credit, wallets, loyalty, insurance, instalments and personalised offers embedded directly into shopping, travel and everyday commerce.This panel examines how checkout is becoming a primary distribution channel for finance, giving retailers, marketplaces, super apps and digital platforms greater influence over the customer relationship. It explores how embedded finance, AI-driven personalisation and contextual products are creating new revenue models and reshaping the role of banks. As finance disappears into everyday experiences, who owns the customer at the moment that matters most?

Speakers

Faisal Hatim

Founder & CEO | Rabbah

Rania Lamprou

Co-founder & CEO | Simpler

Darren Taylor

Senior Vice President, SHARE Rewards & Customer Solutions | Majid Al Futtaim

Kostas Xiradakis

Chief Commercial Officer | Snappi Bank

Afua Hagan

Journalist & Broadcaster | News Central

2:10 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 02:10 PM—02:50 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Partnerships That Power Capital Formation

No single institution can meet the world’s growing demand for capital alone. From investment banks and corporate investors to development finance institutions, lenders and technology providers, capital formation increasingly depends on partnerships that connect different sources of funding with the businesses that need it most.This session explores how collaboration across the capital ecosystem is expanding access to finance, improving risk assessment, enabling more efficient capital allocation and supporting business growth. Where are the strongest partnership models emerging? How are technology and data reshaping lending and investment decisions? And what will it take to build capital ecosystems that can finance the next generation of businesses at scale?

Speakers

Mareme Dieng

Head of M&A, Strategy & Fintech Future | Axian Group

Benjamin Fernandes

CEO & Founder | NALA

Gabriele Sabato

Co-founder & CEO | Wiserfunding

2:30 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 02:30 PM—03:10 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : No Payslip Required: Building Financial Services for Variable Income

Millions of people now earn income through freelancing, platform work, entrepreneurship and flexible employment, yet many financial products are still designed around a traditional monthly salary.This session explores how banks, fintechs, employers and policymakers are redesigning financial infrastructure for a workforce with increasingly diverse income patterns. From open banking and payroll innovation to earned wage access, portable benefits and new approaches to credit assessment, what will it take to build financial services that work beyond the payslip?

Speakers

Omar Ramadan

CEO of GCC | MNT Halan

Abdulrahman AlMubaraky

Country Manager | WISE

Azamat Sultanov

Co-founder & Executive Chairman | GoCab Holding Ltd

Kamal Reggad

Founder & CEO | RemotePass

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 02:30 PM—03:00 PM (30 min)

Networking : Networking Break

Breathe In As Long As It Takes To Read This LineBreathe Out As Long As It Takes To Read This Line

2:50 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 02:50 PM—03:10 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Capital Without Borders - Investing Across Emerging Markets

As global capital becomes increasingly interconnected, corridors are emerging and building the world’s most dynamic investment partnerships. Driven by sovereign wealth, institutional investors and rapidly growing innovation ecosystems, founders now have unprecedented opportunities to access capital, expand into new markets and build globally competitive businesses across regions.This session explores how cross-border investment is reshaping fintech growth, which sectors are attracting the strongest investor interest, and what founders need to scale successfully.

Speakers

Margaret O’Connor

Chairman | Launch Africa Ventures

Shwetank Verma

Co Founder & Managing Partner | Leo Captal

3:00 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 03:00 PM—03:30 PM (30 min)

Deep Dive : Candid Confessions: Bridging Perception Gaps Before They Cost You Millions

Emerging markets are often misunderstood, and those narratives shape investment decisions, partnerships, and economic opportunity. In this candid Off The Record conversation, speakers unpack the disconnect between perception and reality, exploring how media, bias, and outdated assumptions influence global engagement, and what must change to unlock trust and collaboration.

Speaker

Brad Maasdorp

FinTech Growth Partner | TMC (The Member Company)

3:10 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 03:10 PM—03:30 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Execution Layer: Scaling Fintech Across Borders

A tactical conversation on what breaks, scales, and evolves when fintech platforms expand across jurisdictions, currencies, and regulatory environments. Speakers reveal the operational systems and partnerships needed to scale globally while maintaining trust and speed.

Speaker

Oliver Hughes

Chairman of the Supervisory Board og TBC Digital | TBC Uzbekistan

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 03:10 PM—03:40 PM (30 min)

Panel Discussion : The New Architecture of Capital Formation

Capital formation is being reshaped by a new generation of investors, technologies and market infrastructure. From venture capital and private markets to tokenisation, digital custody and next-generation settlement, the institutions and platforms connecting capital with opportunity are rapidly evolving.This session explores how the architecture of capital formation is changing, what infrastructure is needed to unlock institutional capital at scale, and how investors, financial institutions and market infrastructure providers are building the next generation of capital markets.

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 03:10 PM—03:50 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Working Capital Without the Application

A small business usually needs money at exactly the point a conventional lender is least equipped to say yes. The paperwork takes weeks. The opportunity takes days.Transaction history, platform activity, e-invoicing and live cash-flow data change the sequencing. Demand can be spotted, risk can be priced, and working capital can be offered inside the tools a merchant already has open. For freelancers, microbusinesses and smaller merchants, the credit arrives before the application would have been finished.Three things get argued out here: whether commerce and financial data can genuinely close the SME finance gap, what makes embedded working capital durable rather than seasonal, and how lenders resist turning abundant data into credit nobody can repay.

Speakers

Ashish Gupta

Head Digital, SME & Sales | Bank Dhofar

Gabriele Sabato

Co-founder & CEO | Wiserfunding

Yemi Olulana

CEO | Flex Finance

Ismael Belkhayat

Founder & CEO | Chari

3:30 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 03:30 PM—03:50 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : CFOs in the Loop: Governing AI Agents That Touch Your Money

AI agents are increasingly making or supporting financial decisions. Discover how leading institutions are building governance frameworks, controls, and human oversight to stay compliant and in control.

3:40 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 03:40 PM—04:05 PM (25 min)

Fireside Chat : Financing the Next Economy: Beyond Traditional Capital

The way businesses access capital is evolving rapidly. Venture capital is no longer the only path to growth, as private credit, revenue-based financing, embedded finance and alternative funding models expand the financing landscape. This session explores how innovation is reshaping capital formation for the next generation of companies.

Speaker

Armineh Baghoomian

Managing Director | Partners For Growth

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 03:40 PM—04:10 PM (30 min)

Deep Dive : Financial Inclusion: Are We Moving the Needle or Just the Numbers?

Financial inclusion is growing rapidly, but are we creating meaningful impact or simply increasing participation? Explore the tension between profit and purpose, questioning whether access alone is enough or if true inclusion requires stronger financial literacy, confidence and long-term resilience.

Speakers

Berna Tüzüner

Senior Banking Expert | Frankfurt School Of Finance & Management

Omair Ansari

Co-Founder & CEO | Abhi FinTech Ltd

Ratul Ahmed

Managing Director - Lending | Commerzbank AG

3:50 PM

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 03:50 PM—04:10 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : From AI Pilot to Product: What the 20% Do Differently

Pilots are not the constraint. Banks and fintechs have plenty. The shortage is in AI that customers actually end up using.Moving from demonstration to production means solving a very different set of problems: data access, latency, security, governance, model monitoring and integration with systems never designed for AI. The conversation will examine where promising pilots actually break, what has to change before they ship, and what the organisations successfully getting AI into customers’ hands are doing differently.

Speaker

Zahra Al-Kaf

Sr. Solution Architect - FSI | NVIDIA

4:00 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 04:00 PM—04:40 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Built to Move: The Next Generation of Global Payment Corridors

Cross-border remittances are entering a new era. Digital transformation is reshaping how money moves between markets, making corridors faster, smarter and more interoperable.This session brings together banks, fintechs, payment providers and policymakers on the partnerships and infrastructure behind it and what it takes to build corridors that are quicker, more resilient and more inclusive at global scale.

Speakers

Erwan Gelebart

CEO | AXIAN Digibank & Fintech

Ramana Kumar

President | ADI Foundation

Omar Hamade

CEO | Hawala

4:10 PM

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 04:10 PM—05:50 PM (1 h 40 min)

Startup Competition : DAY 2: MoneySurge Pitch Competition

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 04:10 PM—04:50 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Growth Without a Branch: Building Financial Brands in an Embedded World

When finance disappears into a checkout, an app or a marketplace, a customer can use a financial product for years without ever having chosen the institution behind it.Brand building does not survive that intact. Acquisition shifts towards partnerships, platforms, creators and product-led growth, and the company controlling the interface starts to matter more than the company providing the financial service.The people who own growth targets answer the questions their boards ask them: what acquisition genuinely costs, which distribution partnerships actually convert, how a challenger builds loyalty with no branch network to fall back on, and how an incumbent stays distinctive when its product reaches customers through somebody else's platform.

Speakers

Karan Chawla

Director, Global Head of Financial Services | Uber Technologies Inc.

Yury Misnik

Chief Technology Officer | InDrive

4:20 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 04:20 PM—04:40 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Are VC’s The New Loan Sharks?

Speaker

Armineh Baghoomian

Managing Director | Partners For Growth

4:40 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 04:40 PM—05:00 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Compliance as a Feature, Not Friction

KYC, AML and reporting are too often experienced as friction that slows every product down. This session shows how leading institutions are rebuilding compliance as an invisible, automated layer embedded in the flow. The takeaway is a model where controls strengthen the system instead of fighting it.

4:50 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 04:50 PM—05:30 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Women Aren’t Bad Investors. Maybe Investing Is Bad at Women

Women control more wealth than ever, yet many stay on the sidelines - not for lack of ambition, but because the industry was built on assumptions about how they “should” engage with money.We confront whether trust, community and belonging - not products and performance - are what actually turn savers into investors.

Speaker

Afua Hagan

Journalist & Broadcaster | News Central

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 04:50 PM—05:30 PM (40 min)

Fireside Chat : Credit at the Moment of Need: What Comes After BNPL?

Embedded credit is entering a second phase. The first competed on speed, convenience and how fast it could scale. The next will be judged on affordability, profitability, regulatory tolerance and whether the underwriting holds. That is a different business behind the same interface.What follows is the harder conversation: what contextual credit becomes once BNPL stops being the reference point, how a lender tells a useful financial tool from borrowing nobody needed, and which models are still standing when growth is no longer the only number that counts.

Speakers

Yanan Wu

CEO & Chairman | Surfin Meta Digital Technology Pte. Ltd.

Lizzie Champan

Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer | Baystreet Advisors Private Limited

5:00 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 05:00 PM—05:40 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Merchant Multiplier: Who is enabling the next billion businesses to sell digitally?

Digital commerce depends on more than consumer demand. It requires robust acceptance infrastructure, trusted payment networks, and seamless merchant experiences. This session explores how payment providers are enabling businesses to participate in increasingly digital economies.

Speakers

Dalal Alrayes

Co-founder & CEO | Spare

Ahmet Kayhan

Chief Payments and Digital Assets Officer | VEON Group Holding Company Ltd

Eduardo Abreu

CPO & CEO of EBANX Singapore | Ebanx

5:30 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 05:30 PM—05:50 PM (20 min)

Networking : Networking

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 05:30 PM—06:00 PM (30 min)

Panel Discussion : The Safest Experience Is the One You Never Notice

Security is becoming part of product design rather than a separate interruption.Biometrics, behavioural authentication, passkeys and AI-powered fraud detection can protect consumers without forcing them through additional steps. But invisible protection raises its own questions: what data is being monitored, why legitimate customers are blocked and whether a seamless experience can still provide a meaningful explanation.

Speakers

Luke Naudé-Lorentz

Head of Growth | Orca Fraud

Vittorio Furlan

Independent Non-Executive Director | Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank)

Prof.Dr. Ahmed Ebada

Professor, AI Strategist & CEO | HOPn

5:40 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 05:40 PM—06:20 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Digital Public Infrastructure: The Operating System of Modern Economies

Digital identity, trusted data exchange, interoperable government platforms, and citizen-centric digital services are rapidly becoming the foundation of modern economies. This session explores how governments are building the digital infrastructure required to support innovation, financial inclusion, public service delivery, and economic competitiveness in an increasingly connected world.

Speakers

Mario Nobile

Director General | Agency of Digital Italy, Government of Italy

Raafat Sindi

CRO | CNTXT

Neo Mooki

Chairwoman | Botswana Stock Exchange

Nasser Saleh

Chairman & Founder | MadfoatCom for ePayments

5:50 PM

Off The Record

Tuesday 15 September, 05:50 PM—05:50 PM ()

Closing Remarks

The Capital

Tuesday 15 September, 05:50 PM—05:50 PM ()

Closing Remarks

6:00 PM

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 06:00 PM—06:40 PM (40 min)

Panel Discussion : Designing Financial Products for the Real World

The best financial products solve real customer problems. A closing session on human-centred innovation, behavioural finance and product strategy.The best financial products don’t win because they have the most features. They win because they solve real customer problems in ways that feel effortless, intuitive and valuable.This conversation brings together product leaders to explore how behavioural insight, AI, customer experience and product strategy are shaping the next generation of financial products. What separates products people simply try from products they genuinely adopt?

Speakers

Farhan Hassan

CDO | Easypaisa

Reema Jain

Expert Associate Partner | McKinsey & Company

Abdullah Assal

CEO | Sahl

6:20 PM

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 06:20 PM—06:40 PM (20 min)

Fireside Chat : Cover at Checkout

Insurance that shows up exactly when you need it.What changes when protection becomes infrastructure?Embedded insurance is quietly becoming the most scalable way to put protection in people's hands. But cover that appears in a single tap raises real questions of disclosure, fairness and trust. Unlock here on its design layer!

The Bridge

Tuesday 15 September, 06:20 PM—06:25 PM (5 min)

Closing Remarks

6:40 PM

Next-Gen Money

Tuesday 15 September, 06:40 PM—06:50 PM (10 min)

Closing Remarks : Closing Remarks

THE 2026 AGENDA