Ugandan fintechs embrace regulation as annual conference gets underway

September 8, 2021 in Business, Financial Services, Investment, Technology & Telecoms by Editor

To-date the Association has registered over 163 members who are hungry to explore and utilize all the existing opportunities.

Ahead of the Financial Technologies Service Providers Association (FITSPA) 3rd Annual Fintech Conference today, Uganda’s fintech community sees regulation as serving the interests of consumers and players as well as acting as a pedestal for the industry’s future growth.

The conference will converge leading players in business, government, technology and world-class financial services solution providers in order to better navigate shifting landscapes, help businesses embrace and drive the transition to a digital future and unmask the power of technology.

The theme is “Building a Safe and Regulated Eco-system”. To-date, the Association has registered over 163 members who are hungry to explore and utilize all the existing opportunities. According to FITSPA officials, the conference is a great opportunity to network and consolidate the knowledge pool in partnership with the best Fintech solution providers.

Kenneth Kwesiga, the Chief Operations Officer Mcash said, “FITSPA is our collective voice in interfacing with stakeholders, before regulation or the advent of FITSPA, there was no mechanism for self-regulation by service providers.  For example, people who were providing payment services to customers, there were a number of grey areas for a provider. The providers were telecoms yet financial services are regulated by the Bank of Uganda. For instance, there was no guidance on what to do with money that gets stranded in customer’s wallets either because of death or other causes. The players did not know what do with that money. So, we welcome regulation and we are on the same page with the regulator on this.”

The conference will provide for the further entrenchment of the industry in the region by leveraging the opportunities that are continually presenting themselves in the form of challenges and gaps in delivery of services to the market. The strategies and knowledge shared amongst like-minded peers will build confidence and equip techprenuers onto greater achievements.

The FITSPA Fintech Conference will be a virtual experience delivered via platforms that will allow for participants to engage and network with each other during the conference. FITSPA Chairman Peter Kawumi said, “A regulated fintech ecosystem is better for our customers, consumers, our economy, and better for the growth of our space.”

According to Kawumi, one of FISTPA key activities is policy advocacy. The association provides a unified voice for the Uganda fintech ecosystem to engage different stakeholders on policy, regulation and others issues including consumer protection. During the drafting of the regulations, FITSPA adopted a watchdog role to ensure that the regulations would be fair to consumers and the fintech community.

The FITSPA community is made up of local and global companies that Innovate to improve  and upgrade all sectors using technology. Goals for this year’s conference; review Industry growth, discuss new regulation and progress of its implementation, explore Partnerships and Investor preparedness, local and regional Industry trends, networking and connecting, showcase indigenous fintech solution

Vincent Tumwijukye the CEO of Future Link Technologies said the opportunities in Uganda’s fintech sector are barely tapped and the conference should provide avenues for collaboration between Ugandan fintech and their foreign counterparts. “I also hope that we shall be able to find convergence around basic issues such as the protection of end-users of our services, and collaboration on how we can bring down transaction costs without compromising safety,” Tumwijukye said.

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