Panelist
speaker
Moderator
conference Team

Benjamin Fernandes

Founder and CEO, NALA Money
Benjamin Fernandes

Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. Benjamin grew up in Tanzania, then earned scholarships that took him to America for the first time at the age of 17.

At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, being the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions.

Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States.

In 2018, Fernandes founded Nala, a fintech startup that is on a mission to increase economic opportunity for Africans globally. NALA recently raised $10m backed by leading US investors such as Y-Combinator, Accel, Amplo and Bessemer Partners.

In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world.

Web and Social Media

https://www.nala.com/

https://www.instagram.com/benji_fernandes/

https://twitter.com/Benji_Fernandes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminf7/

https://www.facebook.com/fernandes.benjamin7

Agenda

More Info
Breakout 1
|
Saturday
|
10:15 am
Aldrich 108
Ecosystem Development
Telecoms vs. Fintech Startups: The Race for Financial Innovation
Telecom companies are rebranding themselves to adapt, while fintech startups, with their head start, are utilizing the concept of mobile
More Info

Telecoms vs. Fintech Startups: The Race for Financial Innovation

In the realm of Africa's mobile money evolution spanning the last seventeen years, telecom companies initially took the lead, steering growth and diversification. Yet, the narrative is shifting with the rise of fintech startups, who are evolving beyond mobile money infrastructure to value-add services like credit, insurance, savings, and connectivity across global borders. This transition has left telecom companies struggling to keep pace, raising questions about the sustainability of their traditional business models. The pivotal query revolves around whether the market's tilt toward these incremental financial services will challenge the established order. Fintech startups, considered catalysts for this transformation, are nudging telecom companies to revamp their mobile money operations into more agile fintech entities.

America/New_York
Feb 17, 2024 10:15 AM
Aldrich 108