FirstMonie merchant solution to transform Nigeria’s digital payments
CAFS 2025: Firstbank unites fintech leaders, champions inclusive innovation at Canada-Africa Summit
Favour Rotimi
In a setting sponsored by FirstBank of Nigeria, financial technology leaders from Africa and Canada have met to discuss salient economic development across the two continents.
The meeting was convened by the President of the African Fintech Network, Dr. Segun Aina during the recently held Canada-Africa Fintech Summit (CAFS 2025), which took place from August 5–8 at the Sheraton Centre in Downtown Toronto.
According to the statement released by the Firstbank Acting Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Olayinka Ijabiyi, which was made available to lagosstreetjournal.ng, the stakeholders met to explore scalable digital solutions, encourage investment, and promote inclusive economic development across both continents.
Olayinka revealed that FirstBank sponsored the Canada-Africa Fintech Summit (CAFS 2025), and the bank is proud of what the landmark event has achieved by uniting fintech leaders, regulators, startups, and investors from Africa and Canada.
He emphasised that “as a legacy institution with over 131 years of leadership in financial services, FirstBank’s sponsorship highlights its commitment to fostering cross-border collaboration, financial inclusion, and forward-thinking innovation in the global fintech landscape.
He said, “Our support of CAFS 2025 reflects our belief that collaboration between African and Canadian fintech ecosystems can lead to transformative innovations. FirstBank is proud to help shape that future.”
During a high-level panel discussion with Rudy Cuzzeto, MPP for Mississauga–Lakeshore, and David Stevenson, Country Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (Nigeria), Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive for E-Business & Retail Products at FirstBank, stressed the significance of digital collaboration in Africa’s financial ecosystem.
Chuma said “We’re building APIs that understand regulatory bifurcation, who has access to what, and why. The technology is the easy part. The real challenge lies in maintaining security, consent, and performance,”
He explained that “In Nigeria, fintech has evolved beyond disruption to convergence, integrating banks, fintechs, and regulators into an agile and accountable ecosystem.”
He further emphasized that regulatory clarity is essential for building public trust and attracting private investment in fintech, stating, “The more we collaborate, the more lessons we learn, and the greater the benefits for consumers.”
In a separate panel discussion, Rachel Adeshina, Chief Technology Officer at FirstBank, shared insights on harnessing AI to enhance credit access for the underbanked. “We’re addressing data poverty by using AI to interpret alternative data, allowing us to lend to individuals who might otherwise be invisible to the traditional credit system,” she noted.
Adeshina highlighted that FirstBank has disbursed over ₦1 trillion in digital loans through this AI-driven model, achieving a remarkable repayment rate of over 99%. “This innovation was enabled not only by technology but also by a supportive environment, including API banking regulations, data privacy laws, and a shift from account-based to wallet-based banking,” she added.
She also underscored the importance of scalability through collaboration, stating, “In a fragmented continent like Africa, digital scale will come from interoperability. Connecting the 54 markets is the next big challenge, and fintechs are ideally positioned to lead that initiative.”
The summit formed part of Canada’s broader Africa Strategy, aimed at fostering economic partnerships, digital cooperation, and innovation exchange. As Africa’s digital finance ecosystem continues to grow and Canada develops its own open banking framework, events like CAFS 2025 provide a timely platform to align strategies and ignite collaborations.
