Scheduled to hold on Friday, April 24, 2026, at the OrientalHotel, the forum will bring together regulators, financial institutions, fintech leaders, payment service providers, development partners, and policymakers to explore strategies for building a more inclusive financial ecosystem.

With the theme, “Fair Digital Payments as a Catalyst for Deepening Financial Inclusion in Nigeria,” PAFON 3.0 will examine how affordability, transparency, interoperability, and accessibility in digital payments can drive economic resilience, strengthen trust, and expand financial access to underserved communities.

Driving Inclusion through Innovation

Financial inclusion has evolved beyond a policy aspiration into a measurable driver of national productivity and digital trust. According to the latest reports, formal financial inclusion in the country grew to 74% in 2025, up from 56% in 2020.

As Nigeria transitions toward a cash-light economy, industry leaders at PAFON 3.0 will interrogate how fair and equitable digital payment systems can unlock inclusive growth.

Keynote Speaker Spotlight

Dr. Sharrieff-Ayedun, who is also co-founder of CreditRegistry Corporation, will deliver a keynote on leveraging credit data to deepen financial inclusion.

With over 30 years of global experience spanning engineering, strategy, and organizational leadership, she brings deep expertise from her work across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

She previously held engineering roles at global corporations including Microsoft Corporation and General Motors, and has been widely recognized for her contributions to credit infrastructure development in Nigeria.

In his comment, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, the co-convener of Payments Forum Nigeria, said,

“Given Dr. Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun’s distinguished leadership and contributions to Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, we believe her insights would provide invaluable perspective and set the tone for high-level discussions at the Forum. Her keynote will help frame the national conversation around building a resilient, inclusive, and trusted digital payment infrastructure”.

PAFON 3.0 will also feature keynote from Prof. Adewale Peter Obadare, founder/CVO of Digital Encode Limited.

Other Confirmed speakers:

Mr. Chika Nwosu, MD, PalmPay Nigeria; Uche Uzoebo, MD/CEO, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF Limited): Special Guest of Honour; Mojeed Abayomi Agboola, National President, Financial Inclusion Agents Multipurpose Cooperative Society (FIAMCS); Dr. Obioha Otti, National President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN); Ibirogba Oluwagunwa, Chairman Lagos Chapter of AMMBAN; Chukwuemeka Enoch, Founder, Lagos Blockchain Week, and Sarafadeen Fasasi, National President, Association of Financial Inclusion Agents of Nigeria (AFiAN), amongst others.

Panel discussions will center on closing Nigeria’s financial inclusion gap; demonstrations of digital tools for last-mile agents; fireside conversations on emerging payment innovations to be held by the Lagos Blockchain Week, and townhall engagement on the state of agency banking in Nigeria led by the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN).

Event Details:

Date: Friday, April 24 2026

Venue: OrientalHotel, Lekki Road, Lagos

Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Participation is free, but pre-registration is required and can be done here.

Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON) is a multi-stakeholder platform convened to address critical issues in the payments ecosystem and accelerate the growth of an inclusive, efficient, and trusted digital financial system. 

This year’s edition is sponsored by Digital Encode, TeamApt & PalmPay.

Themed “Unlocking Africa’s Finance Story,” the Africa Credit Expo 2025, which took place at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, was organised by CreditRegistry with Afreximbank as founding sponsor. 

The one-day forum drew government officials, international development banks, fintech founders, credit bureaus and SMEs from across the continent. It combined policy announcements, new partnerships and practical showcases aimed at expanding credit access while protecting consumers.

Three clear priorities

Reiterating that practicality has become indispensable in the finance space, speakers emphasised a short list of priorities that should guide immediate action. These include:

• Build verifiable financial identity and integrate alternative data so lenders can underwrite millions without collateral. 
• Pair access with education; financial literacy must scale if credit is to be used responsibly. 
• Make cross-border infrastructure real: interoperable IDs, payment rails and trade platforms that recognise credit records across countries. 

“We want to empower people to own the pond, because that way they’ll feed their generations,” Dr Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, MD/CEO, CreditRegistry, said as she laid out ACE’s consumer education and ‘Black Friday on Credit’ initiatives aimed at rewarding disciplined borrowers.

Mastercard’s West Africa Chief, Dr Folashade Femi Lawal, spelt out the scale Mastercard is targeting and the firm’s partnership role: “We empower economies. We power businesses. We empower the people to the last mile, and we build sustainable economy where every player in the value chain, where they prosper.” 

Representing the Central Bank of Nigeria, Fidelis Odia urged collaboration and stressed the regulator’s priorities: “Access to credit is not merely a financial transaction, it is a catalyst that empowers entrepreneurs fortified small and medium enterprises, first in essential job creation, accessory for the long term viability and resilience of our economy.”

Tunde Lemo of the CBN struck a note on self-reliance: “We shouldn’t look in the west or in the northern hemisphere for this to happen, because capital and all the opportunities are here in Africa,”  he said, highlighting that the continent’s capital and demand exist if systems are fixed.

Afreximbank’s MANSA initiative, represented by Mrs Maureen Mba, made the case that trade finance and digital identity are two halves of the same story: build trade rails and you create markets that justify credit at scale. “Africa’s greatest contact resource is not its minerals, it is the entrepreneurial potential.”

Announcements and partnerships

CreditRegistry leveraged ACE 2025 to convert several policy conversations into formal commitments. The event included the signing of two memoranda of understanding: one with Afreximbank’s MANSA Digital Initiative and another with the University of Lagos, agreements intended to drive SME verification, export readiness and consumer education at scale.

Secretary to the State Government, Barr. ‘Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin representing Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, revealed directives to support microfinance institutions and local credit initiatives that can be scaled nationally, the kind of sub-national experimentation speakers said will matter.

Keynote takeaways from investors and practitioners

Kyari Abba Bukar, co-founder of Trans Sahara Investment Corporation, and other keynote speakers explained that Africa’s entrepreneurial energy is abundant but credit systems lack the trust signals lenders need.

Their prescription focused on three levers, data, guarantees and product design, to crowd private capital into SMEs and women-led businesses.

They emphasised that innovation is not only technological. It must include new ways of assessing risk (open banking, alternative data), credit guarantee instruments to absorb first losses and skills training so borrowers can use finance productively.

Highlights from Panel session

At Africa Credit Expo 2025, the panel, moderated by Ogbo Awoke Ogbo, focused on smart credit reporting and the practical use of credit scores (CreditRegistry’s “SmartScore”) by lenders and fintechs. 

Key practical points included:

• CreditRegistry’s SmartScore range and what the bands mean for access and pricing (100–999 scale; higher bands enable negotiation of interest rates). 
• The power and limits of alternative data (telco records, digital footprints) used by digital lenders to onboard customers without prior formal credit history. 
• Lenders must combine scores with affordability analysis, a high score is not a sole green light; product design must reflect capacity to repay. 
• Need for consumer education so people understand what affects their score (loan enquiries, repayment behaviour) and how to improve it. 
• Cybersecurity and data integrity were flagged as prerequisites: more data without protection is a risk, not an asset. 

Africa Credit Expo 2025 showed growth in the sector, with public officials, development banks and private players switching from talk to deliverables; MoUs, state directives, product pilots. 

It also outlined the three imminent needs:

1. Operational interoperability: IDs, payments and credit data must travel across borders and systems. 
2. Demand-side capacity: push financial literacy and SME support so loans create sustainable businesses, not short-term liabilities. 
3. A visible pipeline of bankable projects guarantees that patient capital can be deployed quickly. 

If those steps are taken, the potential results repeated across the day, to turn Africa’s entrepreneurial energy into measurable growth, moves from aspiration to plan. “The future of African credit is not a prediction; it is a prototype we must build.”

Unveiled at a press briefing on July 23, the 8th edition, dubbed “The Fintech Ecosystem Symphony: Orchestrating Nigeria’s Digital Future”, aims to bring together over 20,000 participants from across sectors and regions.

Organised by the Fintech Association of Nigeria, NFW25 will explore how coordinated efforts between government, startups, corporates, and investors can fast-track innovation and financial inclusion across the continent.

“This is no longer just an event. It’s a movement,” said Dr. Stanley Jacob, president of the Fintech Association of Nigeria. “NFW25 will be where new partnerships are forged, sectors transformed, and the future of Nigeria’s digital economy is composed like a symphony.”

For the first time, Nigeria Fintech Week will span multiple locations, Abuja, Delta, and Enugu, before culminating at the Landmark Centre in Lagos.

The multi-city format is designed to widen participation and showcase the reach of fintech across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

According to Dr. Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, vice president and chair of the Organising Committee, the expansion reinforces NFW’s commitment to accessibility and grassroots innovation. “Fintech is for everyone now, from farmers to students, from SMEs to regulators,” she said.

Uche Uzoebo, CEO of the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities Limited (SANEF) added, “Even churches, schools, and food vendors are digitising. NFW25 is where they’ll find solutions, partners, and tools to grow.”

Nigeria Fintech Week has grown since 2017 into Africa’s leading fintech gathering, driving policy shifts, investment, and digital transformation.

With this year’s expansive approach, the stage is set to orchestrate an even more inclusive and impactful digital future.

The event, which saw the participation of 611 attendees, aimed at setting the tone for the industry in 2024 by retrospectively analyzing 2023 and providing valuable insights into the trends and forecasts that will shape the coming year.

The opening address by Mr. Ade Bajomo, president of the association, highlighted the resilience of the global FinTech landscape in 2023.

He said despite a 48% decrease in global FinTech investment, the spirit of innovation and digital inclusion persevered.

He expressed optimism for 2024, foreseeing advancements in AI, machine learning, and deeper integration with Web3.

Moderated by Yemi Keri, CEO of Heckerbella, the event featured speakers from diverse sectors, including payment, insurance, banking, fintech, and technology. Each speaker provided a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by the fintech ecosystem.

The first speaker Chinwe Uzoho, regional managing director, Network International, discussed the impact of digital transformation post-COVID, emphasizing intelligent automation, collaboration, and the need for industry players to embrace technology and innovation in 2024.

Olayinka Oni, ED/COO, Sterling Financial Holdings Company, addressed challenges faced in 2023, including uncertainties during elections and the impact of COVID.

He emphasized the importance of digital transformation, financial inclusion, and collaboration between banks and FinTech’s in 2024.

Tomi Badejo, head strategic projects at NowNow, explored the economic challenges of 2023, the impact on the fintech ecosystem, and expectations for 2024. His focus was on open banking, generative AI, customer-centric solutions, and the importance of real financial inclusion.

Oti Iletanhem, Investment Principal at Alitheia, speaking from an investment perspective, analyzed the reasons behind investor pullback in 2023 and predicted an evolving investment landscape in 2024.

He highlighted the importance of fintechs aligning with financial inclusion, compliance, and regulatory aspects to attract investments.

Dr. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, MD/CEO of Risk Analyst Insurance, anticipated a surge in mergers and acquisitions in the insurtech sector in 2024.

She emphasized the role of AI in improving fraud detection and the importance of partnerships and ecosystem collaboration.

Ousseynou Beye, Senior Solutions Architect, Amazon, stressed the significance of understanding which type of AI solution would be useful for business challenges, cautioning that generative AI is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

The Fintech Outlook 2024 event concluded with Dr. Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, Chairman, Connect Committee of FintechNGR & MD/CEO, CreditRegistry giving closing remarks, encouraging participation in the initiatives of Fintech Association of Nigeria, and Dr. Babatunde Obrimah, COO, FintechNGR announcing upcoming events, including the Nigeria Fintech Week scheduled for October 8th – 10th at the Landmark Event Center in Lagos Nigeria.

What you should know:

• FintechNGR is the premier national fintech association in Africa, dedicated to accelerating fintech growth, connecting stakeholders, and advocating for the adoption of regulatory supports and reforms.
• With a diverse membership base spanning various sector. FintechNGR aims to foster an innovation-driven environment and make Nigeria one of the world’s leading markets for fintech innovation and investment.