FirstBank has reaffirmed its commitment to global fintech growth and financial inclusion by sponsoring the Canada-Africa Fintech Summit, CAFS 2025, held from August 5–8 at the Sheraton Centre in Downtown Toronto.
The summit, convened by Dr. Segun Aina, President of the African Fintech Network brought together fintech leaders, regulators, startups, and investors from Africa and Canada to explore scalable digital solutions, stimulate investment, and promote inclusive economic development across both continents.
Speaking on the sponsorship, Olayinka Ijabiyi, Acting Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications at FirstBank, 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 session alongside Rudy Cuzzeto, MPP for Mississauga–Lakeshore, and David Stevenson, Country Director for the United Nations World Food Programme (Nigeria), FirstBank’s Group Executive for E-Business & Retail Products, Chuma Ezirim, highlighted the importance of digital collaboration in Africa’s financial ecosystem.
“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,” Ezirim said.
“In Nigeria, fintech has evolved beyond disruption to convergence, integrating banks, fintechs, and regulators into an agile and accountable ecosystem. The more we collaborate, the more lessons we learn, and the greater the benefits for consumers.”
In another panel session, FirstBank’s Chief Technology Officer, Rachel Adeshina, spoke on leveraging artificial intelligence to extend credit access to 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 explained.
Adeshina revealed that FirstBank has disbursed over ₦1 trillion in digital loans through its AI-powered model, with a repayment rate exceeding 99%. She credited this success to both technology and enabling policies, including API banking regulations, data privacy laws, and a shift from account-based to wallet-based banking.
She also stressed the need for interoperability to achieve scale in Africa’s fragmented markets:
“In a 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.”