Charlene Chen

Charlene currently serves as the COO of BitPesa (www.bitpesa.co), an online payment platform that leverages digital currency to significantly lower the cost of making remittance and business payments to and from sub-Saharan Africa.

Charlene Chen

Chief Operating Officer at BitPesa

Charlene currently serves as the COO of BitPesa, an online payment platform that leverages digital currency to significantly lower the cost of making remittance and business payments to and from sub-Saharan Africa.

BitPesa enables individuals and businesses to make payments directly to or from mobile money and bank networks across East and West Africa. Their clients range from international companies who pay freelancers and software developers in Uganda to social enterprises that transfer international capital to pay staff and cover operations in Kenya to Nigerian importers paying suppliers in China and Dubai.

Charlene has over 10 years of private sector and social sector experience working with a variety of organizations ranging from internet startups to Fortune 500 companies to international non-profits. She began her career as an IT consultant at Deloitte Consulting, but during business school made a career shift to focus on social entrepreneurship, technology, and mobile financial services in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, Charlene was listed as one of Innotribe’s “Power Women in Fintech.” She holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California – Berkeley and a B.S. in Psychology and Computer Science from Duke University.

Market Opening – London Stock Exchange

Invitation Only

08.00

Registration and Networking

08.10

Opening Remarks

by Neanda Salvaterra - Agenda

08.55

Welcome Address

Andrew Fassnidge – Africa Tech Summit

09.00

Leveraging IoT: Enabling New Financial Possibilities for the Next Billion

Mayur Patel – COO – M-KOPA

9.10

Pathways To Funding & Monetization – Charting The Course of Funding, Exits and M&A

Chris Baird – Partner – DLA Piper (Moderator)
Neil Shah – Senior Business Development Director – London Stock Exchange
Kola Aina – Founding Partner – Ventures Platform
Nina Triantis – Global Head of TMT – Standard Bank
Odunayo Eweniyi – Co-Founder PiggyVest / First Check Africa

Main Theatre

09.30

Networking Break

10.30

Mobile & Digital Economy – Unpacking The Latest Trends on Connectivity, Content and Talent

Addy Awofisayo – Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa -YouTube
Kojo Boakye – Head of Connectivity and Access Policy for Africa – META
Mahlet Tamene – CFO – Gebeya Inc
Jessica Hope – Founder & CEO – Wimbart (Moderator)

Main Theatre

11.10

IPO Masterclass: Tech trends in London

Ope Sule – Business Development Manager for Africa – London Stock Exchange

Forum Room

11.10

Payments in Africa – The Billion(s) Dollar Battlefield

Akshay Grover – Group CEO – Cellulant
Andrew Takyi-Appiah – Co-founder & MD Zeepay
Anthony Day – Partner -DLA Piper
Tosin Eniolorunda – Founder & CEO – TeamApt
Nkiru Uwaje – Director of Strategic Platform Partnerships – Finastra (Moderator)

Main Theatre

11.55

VC Lift Off – Unpacking The Explosive Growth Of Activity & Investment Outlook

Ido Sum – Partner – TLcom Capital
Eghosa Omoigui – Founder & Partner – EchoVC
Ruby Nimkar – Principal – GreenHouse Capital
Ope Sule – Business Development Manager Africa – London Stock Exchange (Moderator)

Main Theatre

12.35

Networking Lunch

13.15

Roundtable – Scaling Africa Fintech for Global Success

Hosted by Cellulant

Forum Room

14.15

Crypto for Africa – The Endless Possibilities

Rotimi Ogunwede – Chief Marketing Officer – Patricia Technologies

Main Theatre

14.15

DeFi for Africa – The Future of Decentralised Finance & Crypto Across The Continent

Carmelle Cadet – Chief Executive Officer/Founder – Emtech
Rotimi Ogunwede – Global Head of Strategy & Expansion- Patricia
Chris Ostrowski – Global Head of Public Sector Engagement – cLabs
Tedd George –Chief Narrative Officer – Kleos Advisory UK (Moderator)

 

Main Theatre

14.45

The Role of Fintech’s In Developing An Inclusive Digital Economy

Hosted by Ghana Fintech and Payments Association
Forum Room 2

15.15

Networking Break

15.40

De-risking the supply chain of sensitive products in Africa Tega Iortim – CEO & Founder- Gricd

Tega Iortim – CEO & Founder- Gricd

16.00

Embedded Finance & InsurTech – Meet The Game Changers Digitising Insurance In Africa

Jihan Abass – Founder & CEO of Lami
Henry Mascot – Co-Founder & CEO Curacel
Boko Inyundo – Director Strategic Relations – Hence (Moderator)

Main Theatre

16.15

Closing Remarks

by LSE & Africa Tech Summit

17.00

ATS Networking Drinks Reception

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