Programme
Building Africa’s Digital Financial Infrastructure
The DMFS Africa Forum 2026 programme brings together leaders from banking, payments, fintech, technology and regulation for a focused digital finance conference in Africa examining the infrastructure powering the continent’s financial economy.
From payments and core banking to AI, cloud, digital identity, cybersecurity, open finance and cross-border connectivity, the programme explores the systems, investment priorities and partnerships required to support Africa’s next phase of digital finance growth.
Across a focused day in Lagos, senior leaders from banks, payment companies, fintechs, financial-market infrastructure, regulators, major enterprises and technology providers will examine the systems required to support the next phase of digital finance growth.
From payments and core banking to AI, cloud, digital identity, cybersecurity, open finance and cross-border connectivity, the programme moves beyond conversations about fintech adoption to address a bigger question:
What infrastructure does Africa need to build next and who will build it?
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What to Expect
DMFS Africa Forum is not simply a technology showcase. The programme is designed around the commercial, technological and regulatory decisions shaping financial infrastructure investment across African markets.
Executive Keynotes & Leadership Perspectives
Hear directly from senior banking, payments, technology and regulatory leaders on the priorities defining the next phase of Africa’s financial transformation, including:
- Modernising financial infrastructure for scale
- Building resilient, interoperable payment systems
- Technology investment priorities for banks and financial institutions
- The future of digital banking and financial platforms
- Regional connectivity and cross-border financial infrastructure
- Regulation, innovation and the evolution of Africa’s financial systems
Banking & Financial Infrastructure Strategy
Explore how banks and financial institutions are responding to growing transaction volumes, changing customer expectations and increasingly complex technology requirements.
Discussions will examine:
- Core banking modernisation and legacy transformation
- Digital banking architecture and platform strategy
- Cloud adoption and infrastructure resilience
- Build, buy or partner technology decisions
- Data infrastructure and intelligent banking
- Technology procurement, implementation and transformation
Payments & Financial Market Infrastructure
Building the Rails for Africa’s Digital Economy
As digital transaction volumes grow, the infrastructure underneath payments must become faster, more resilient and increasingly interoperable.
Programme discussions will explore:
- Real-time payments and next-generation payment infrastructure
- Processing, switching, acquiring and issuing
- Merchant payments and collections
- Wallet and mobile-money infrastructure
- Payment interoperability
- Settlement and liquidity
- The evolution of national and regional payment systems
Cross-Border Payments & Connectivity
What will it take to make moving money across African markets faster, cheaper and more connected?
Explore:
- Regional payment connectivity
- Cross-border settlement
- Remittances
- FX and treasury technology
- Interoperability between payment systems
- Infrastructure supporting intra-African commerce
Digital Banking, Open Finance & Embedded Finance
Building the Next Generation of Financial Platforms
The boundaries between banks, fintechs, technology companies and enterprises are changing.
DMFS will examine the technology and partnerships enabling new financial products and distribution models, including:
- Open banking and open finance
- API infrastructure and API management
- Banking-as-a-Service
- Embedded finance
- Financial-data connectivity
- Bank–fintech partnerships
- Platform banking and ecosystem models
AI, Cloud & Data
The Intelligent Financial Institution
Artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from experimentation into financial-services infrastructure and operations.
Sessions will examine where AI, cloud, automation and data can create meaningful operational and commercial value — and where the risks remain.
Key discussions include:
- AI applications across banking and payments
- Fraud and risk decisioning
- Data infrastructure and analytics
- Intelligent automation
- Cloud architecture for financial institutions
- Customer and operational intelligence
- Governance, resilience and responsible AI
Digital Identity, Cybersecurity & Financial Crime
Building Trust Into Digital Finance
As more customers, businesses and transactions move online, identity and security become fundamental infrastructure.
DMFS will explore:
- Digital identity and e-KYC
- Biometrics and authentication
- Cybersecurity for financial institutions
- Fraud detection and prevention
- AML and transaction monitoring
- Identity infrastructure
- Financial-crime technology
- Balancing frictionless experiences with security and compliance
Regulation, RegTech & the Future of Financial Infrastructure
Technology can only scale within financial systems that are secure, trusted and effectively governed.
Regulators, financial institutions and technology providers will examine:
- Evolving payments regulation
- Open finance frameworks
- Digital identity and data governance
- Regulatory technology
- Compliance automation
- Consumer protection
- Financial-system resilience
- Creating frameworks that enable innovation without compromising trust
From Conversation to Commercial Opportunity
The DMFS programme is designed to connect industry discussion with technology discovery and business engagement.
Throughout the Forum, delegates can move between:
Executive Panels & Keynotes
Hear how senior leaders are approaching major infrastructure and investment decisions.
Technology Showcases
Discover platforms and solutions across payments, banking technology, AI, cloud, identity, cybersecurity and financial data.
Industry Roundtables
Join focused conversations around specific market, regulatory and technology challenges.
Case Studies
Explore how financial institutions and technology companies are implementing solutions in real operating environments.
Business Networking
Meet the banks, fintechs, payment companies, enterprises, technology providers, regulators and investors shaping the market.
Who Is the Programme For?
The DMFS Africa Forum programme is designed for senior professionals across:
Banking & Financial Institutions
CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, COOs, Chief Digital Officers and leaders across payments, digital banking, technology, infrastructure, innovation, transformation and procurement
Fintech & Payments
Founders, CEOs, CTOs, product leaders, payments leaders, engineering, operations, partnerships and market expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Payments, core banking, cloud, AI, cybersecurity, digital identity, APIs, data, RegTech and financial infrastructure providers
Regulators & Financial-Market Infrastructure
Central banks, regulators, payment authorities, national and regional payment infrastructure and industry bodies
Enterprise & Merchant Organisations
Telecommunications, retail, e-commerce, FMCG, travel, mobility, energy and other businesses investing in payments and financial infrastructure
Investors & Strategic Capital
Venture capital, private equity, DFIs, institutional investors and strategic investors
Get Involved
Whether you want to join the programme, demonstrate your technology, build thought leadership or meet the organisations investing in Africa’s financial infrastructure, there are multiple ways to participate in DMFS Africa Forum 2027.
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