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
08.00Registration and Networking
08.10Opening Remarks
by Neanda Salvaterra - Agenda
08.55Welcome Address
Andrew Fassnidge – Africa Tech Summit
09.00Leveraging IoT: Enabling New Financial Possibilities for the Next Billion
Mayur Patel – COO – M-KOPA
9.10Pathways 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
09.30Networking Break
10.30Mobile & 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
11.10IPO Masterclass: Tech trends in London
Ope Sule – Business Development Manager for Africa – London Stock Exchange
Forum Room
11.10Payments 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
11.55VC 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
12.35Networking Lunch
13.15Roundtable – Scaling Africa Fintech for Global Success
Hosted by Cellulant
Forum Room
14.15Crypto for Africa – The Endless Possibilities
Rotimi Ogunwede – Chief Marketing Officer – Patricia Technologies
Main Theatre
14.15DeFi 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
14.45The Role of Fintech’s In Developing An Inclusive Digital Economy
Hosted by Ghana Fintech and Payments Association
Forum Room 2
Networking Break
15.40De-risking the supply chain of sensitive products in Africa Tega Iortim – CEO & Founder- Gricd
Tega Iortim – CEO & Founder- Gricd
16.00Embedded 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
16.15Closing Remarks
by LSE & Africa Tech Summit
17.00