csrreporters 
FirstBank proudly sponsored the Canada Africa Fintech Summit (CAFS 2025), held from August 5-8 at the Sheraton Centre in Downtown Toronto. Convened by Dr. Segun Aina, President of the African Fintech Network, the summit brought together fintech leaders, regulators, startups, and investors from Africa and Canada to explore scalable digital solutions, foster investment, and promote inclusive economic growth across both continents.
As a leading financial institution with over 131 years of experience, FirstBank’s sponsorship underscores its commitment to cross-border collaboration, financial inclusion, and innovation in the global fintech ecosystem. Olayinka Ijabiyi, Acting Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at FirstBank, said: “Our support of CAFS 2025 reflects our belief that collaboration between African and Canadian fintech ecosystems can drive transformative innovation. FirstBank is proud to help shape that future.”
During a high level panel with Rudy Cuzzeto, MPP for Mississauga Lakeshore, and David Stevenson, Country Director for the UN World Food Programme (Nigeria), Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive for E-Business & Retail Products at First Bank, highlighted the importance of digital collaboration in Africa’s financial ecosystem. “We’re building APIs that understand regulatory differences, access levels, and purpose. Technology is the easy part; the real challenge lies in maintaining security, consent, and performance,” he said. “Fintech in Nigeria has evolved from disruption to convergence, integrating banks, fintechs, and regulators into an agile, accountable ecosystem. Regulatory clarity is essential for public trust and private investment.”
In a separate session, Rachel Adeshina, Chief Technology Officer at FirstBank, discussed leveraging AI to expand credit access for the underbanked. “By interpreting alternative data through AI, we can provide loans to individuals often invisible to traditional credit systems,” she explained. Adeshina noted that FirstBank has disbursed over ₦1 trillion in digital loans through this AI driven model, achieving a repayment rate of over 99%. She emphasized the need for interoperability to scale fintech solutions across Africa’s 54 markets, stating, “Digital scale will come from connecting fragmented markets, and fintechs are uniquely positioned to lead this effort.”
CAFS 2025 aligns with Canada’s broader Africa Strategy, designed to foster economic partnerships, digital cooperation, and knowledge exchange. With Africa’s digital finance ecosystem rapidly expanding and Canada developing its own open banking framework, the summit provided a timely platform to align strategies, encourage collaboration, and accelerate inclusive fintech innovation.