9th Annual Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit 2018

Don’t Miss The Region's Definitive Event on Emerging Markets Mobile Money Digital Transformation: Practical Solutions for the Banked and the Unbanked

We  invite you to join us in Yangon, Myanmar for the 9th edition of this hallmark event on Mobile Money and Agent Banking.

This year’s Summit will be deliberating on the many issues and challenges including the following themes:

• New Opportunities and Innovative Business Models in Mobile Money for the Greater Mekong Subregion

• Growing Functionality with Mobile Money:  What is Trendy in the Region? 

• The Convergence of Telecoms, Banks and MFS

• The Mobile Money Way to Financial Inclusion:  Critical Success Factors

The Faculty of Top Speakers includes:

• Stephen Swan, Head of Product & Digital, Wave Money

• Mark Flaming, Chief Digital Officer, Yoma Bank                                                      

• Jacques Voogt, Chief M-Commerce Officer, Ooredoo Myanmar
• Phoutsala Omdala, Deputy Director General, IT Division, Bank of the Lao P.D.R
• Tim Scheffmann, CEO, Scheffmann Limited

• Justin Ho, Head of MFS Products & Solutions, AMDOCS

• Paul Luchtenburg, Country Coordinator Myanmar, UNCDF

• Pramod Saxena, Founder & Chairman, Oxigen Services India             

• Rozano Planta, Head Mobile Financial Services Joint Operation, (MPT) Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications

• Alexi Lane, CEO, Everex, Singapore 

• Senior Official, National Bank Of Cambodia, Cambodia (confirming)

• Le Dang Dung, Deputy General Director, Viettel Group (confirming)

• Senior Officer, Smart Axiata, Cambodia (confirming)

Plus invited central bankers from the Central Bank of Myanmar, Monetary Authority of Singapore, National Bank of Cambodia and the State Bank of Vietnam.

Join us as we explore how financial inclusion impacts real GDP in emerging markets. The effect of leveraging digital technology to the banked and the unbanked could boost GDP by 2% to 6% in markets like Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines according to the findings of ADB, Microsave and Oliver Wyman.

To sponsor, exhibit and/or attend as a delegate: patrick@magenta-global.com.sg

To submit an abstract for presentation opportunity (subject for approval): cathy.lim@magenta-global.com.sg

For media partnership and supporting organizations: jose@magenta-global.com.sg

For all other matters: enquiry@magenta-global.com.sg

Generating Successful Mini Grid Economies in Africa

Mini Grids have been identified as a key platform to address critical electrification shortages in Africa. Creating successful mini grid ecosystems beyond pilot projects are now the focus of African governments facing severe shortages especially for their off-grid populations. Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana are just some of the countries with frameworks and supportive policies indicating desire to expand energy access through mini grids. Foundations, donors and organisations are stepping up their financial support for mini grids, eg; in Tanzania alone the World Bank is setting the pace with a $209 million financing for a six-year Rural Electrification Expansion Programme.

Africa can lead the way with plentiful renewable resources, an increasingly tech savvy populations encouraged by the mobile phones technology leap, presence of world class telcos and less incumbent infrastructure to obstruct new models.

Join us at the 4th Africa Mini Grids Summit where we will once again highlight the business case for mini grids in Africa, analysing the mechanics behind various implementation models along with insights on how to overcome the pain points still plaguing the industry. 

Government officers, private sector players and investors will come together to share insights and solutions, case studies and robust panel debates on how to continue developing successful mini grid projects in Africa.

The 4th Africa Mini Grids Summit 2018 presents a unique opportunity for your organisation to be showcased as an important player in Africa's electrification ecosystem. Showcase your expertise and products through our customised exhibition and sponsorship packages which will reinforce your corporate branding and thought leadership position in the industry amongst energy regulators, developers, investors and stakeholders who are planning mini grid projects in their country.

Our team will be happy to discuss unique and customised packages to suit your business objectives. Should you be interested to know more, please send an email to the following:

To sponsor, exhibit and/or attend as a delegate: patrick@magenta-global.com.sg
To submit an abstract for presentation opportunity (subject for approval): cathy.lim@magenta-global.com.sg
For media partnership and supporting organizations: jose@magenta-global.com.sg
For all other matters: enquiry@magenta-global.com.sg

Southeast Asian Mobile Money Market Heating-Up in 2018

Yangon, Myanmar, 15 December 2017 – Southeast Asia's mobile money and agent banking scene continues to race forward as regional authorities, international experts and industry stakeholders gather once again for the 9^th Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit 2018 to be held on February 7-8 at the ParkRoyal Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar.

This ninth edition of the strategic regional assembly will focus on the most pressing issues and concerns of these rapidly developing markets such as: the future of digital payments; financial inclusion challenges; e-money functionality; cross-border transactions; social media payments; the digitizing of cash; and more.  The Summit's regional focus will also cover major developments in neighbouring countries including India's payment ecosystem; Cambodia's first remittance service, as well as a primer on Lao's mobile money landscape.

The 2018 Summit's host of industry experts presenting and sharing their insights and forecasts include: Stephen Swan, Head of Product & Digital at Wave Money; Mark Flaming, Chief Digital Officer of Yoma Bank; Jacques Voogt, Chief M-Commerce Officer at Ooredoo Myanmar; Tim Scheffmann, CEO of Scheffmann Ltd; Justin Ho, Vice President of Amdocs Mobile Financial Services; Paul Luchtenburg, Country Coordinator (Myanmar) for UNCDF; Pramod Saxena, Founder & Chairman of Oxigen Services India; and more.

“In Southeast Asia, mobile money is moving at an amazing pace with fintech companies WeChat and AliPay in China leading the way.  It’s no longer just about Mobile Money and more about the fintech companies in the region creating better value propositions and relevant services around messaging tools and social engagement," said Stephen Swan, Head of Product & Digital for Myanmar-based Wave Money.  "Grab is another example, whereas it first started out as a cab hailing service to now providing a digital wallet in some countries that allows users to make instant purchases with their Grab credits while earning reward points for every transaction.  The launch of the developer portal from Wave Money is in recognition of the fast-growing e-commerce sector in Myanmar and the company’s commitment to provide fast, easy and safe financial services to a diverse range of customers including businesses in Myanmar."

Key event partners that will be exhibiting at the event are leading communications and media software and services provider Amdocs, and the blockchain-based microfinance and payments platform Everex.

Justin Ho, Vice President of Amdocs Mobile Financial Services, said: "The 9^th Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit 2018 presents a wonderful opportunity for us to meet with some of the most prominent players in the Emerging Markets financial and telecommunications and technology ecosystem, especially in the burgeoning Myanmar market.  We look forward to brainstorming and sharing our insights and discussing how critical agent banking and open banking initiatives will play an important role in the coming years for financial and greater economic inclusion."

Conference organizer Magenta Global (Singapore)'s CEO, Maggie Tan, added: “Myanmar presents tremendous opportunities for sustainable mobile financial services.  The government is targeting bringing financial services to 40% of people by 2020.  We have seen foreign companies working in partnership with local public and private companies in building payment networks and digitizing data.  To harness the full potential, strong collaboration is required among mobile operators, financial and payments companies, technology companies and government agencies.  We invite all companies in this whole new emerging ecosystem to join this Summit.”

Magenta Global Pte Ltd

Myanmar Mobile Money & Agent Banking Conference 2017 - Recap and Key Takeaways

Close to 200 Industry participants from the government, financial & technology value chain with 70% representing C-Suite and senior management executives convened last February 21-22 at the Park Royal Yangon hotel for the annual mobile money & agent banking conference. An occasion that assembled top telcos in Myanmar - MPT (Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications), Ooredoo and Telenor (represented by Wave Money) was truly a worthwhile experience.

During the conference, informative and relevant agenda covering the latest and most pertinent issues of mobile money and agent banking were tackled.

Interviews and presentation highlights

Some key takeaways in the mobile money discussions are about compliance and regulation.

CEO of Wave Money, Brad Jones, emphasized the need of high standard of compliance to regulations. He said “There are two regulatory pathways to do mobile financial services mobile money in the country. All providers must ensure that they comply with one of those and have a license issued by one of those. the second issue I think is that the sector needs to take the responsibility seriously and ensure that systems, policies and processes are put in place across all providers to ensure that customers' trust is maintained and customers' funds are always safe.” One of the summary key points in his presentation is "As industry players, we all have a responsibility to ensure that the mobile money industry grows in a safe and responsible way, with customer protection at the heart of our efforts".

Rozano Planta, CEO Mobile Money of MPT, said in his presentation that "Regulators are the innovators of a fair business environment for Digital Financial Services players".

Chief M-Commerce Officer of Ooredoo Myanmar, Jacques Voogt said in his presentation that we need to "Motivate the customer to cross the “cash bridge” through easy access and developing trust then grow a cashless society through partnerships with the mobile wallet as the source of funds"

CEO of Yoma Bank, Hal Bosher added that: “This is a geographically dispersed country. You have a lot of people spread around the country which is also the opportunity. The critical factor is to grow the agent network and grow the functionality on the systems so people can do bill payment. People can perhaps link to banks. So they can withdraw money and deposit money through mobile money. So as the functionality increases, people can add value to their lives.”

Exhibition and Networking opportunity

Over the exhibition area, we have seen international and local companies showcasing their products and services. Companies presented their cutting-edge technologies to all event participants and visitors.

Participants' feedback showed Blockchain as a very interesting product in the exhibition area. A lot of participants felt that a longer discussion is needed, possibly a workshop in the future. We were very grateful to have Alexi Lane (CEO, Everex) and his team as they were the subject matter expert during the event. Exhibitor Everex powers Microfinance and Remittance Services through Blockchain technology.

What's Next?

Upcoming speaker Stephen Swan, who recently joined Wave Money as the Head of Product & Digital, recently gave us his thoughts on mobile money in relation to financial inclusion and regional potential around the Mekong region including Myanmar. 

"Wave Money is the leading FinTech in Myanmar and is the first company in the country to launch an open Application Programming Interface (API) platform with the introduction of the Wave Money Developer Portal which will enable cashless payments between merchants and customers. This is the latest innovation from the fastest growing and leading Digital Payments company in the country."“In South East Asia, Mobile Money is moving at an amazing pace with FinTech companies WeChat and AliPay in China leading the way. It’s no longer just about Mobile Money and more about the FinTech companies in the region creating better value propositions and relevant services around messaging tools and social engagement. Grab is another example whereas it first started out as a cab hailing service to now providing a digital wallet in some countries that allow users to make instant purchases with their Grab credits while earning reward points for every transaction."

He added that "The launch of the developer portal from Wave Money is in recognition of the fast-growing e-commerce sector in Myanmar and the company’s commitment to provide fast, easy and safe financial services to a diverse range of customers including businesses in Myanmar.”

With more mobile money players arriving in Myanmar and mobile financial services licences were granted, we are expecting a continuous market growth in the coming years. Ooredoo recently launched M-Pitesan, MPT to launch soon, Central Bank issues licence to OK $ and other developments underway.Myanmar continues to attract international companies as the market is developing.

Another upcoming speaker, Justin Ho(Vice President for Amdocs Mobile Financial Services) said "The 9th Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit 2018 presents a wonderful opportunity for us to meet with some of the most prominent players in the Emerging Markets financial and telecommunications and technology ecosystem, especially in the burgeoning Myanmar market. We look forward to brainstorming and sharing our insights and discussing how critical agent banking and open banking initiatives will play an important role in the coming years for financial and greater economic inclusion."

The annual summit is returning early next year on February 7-8, 2018 at the Park Royal Yangon Hotel. Should you be interested to participate, please send an email to patrick@magenta-global.com.sg for more information and monthly updates. Early registrations for exhibitors are already open for booking.

Source: tinyurl.com/ycfuog33 

WaCA Mining Summit Expo The Most-Established and Dedicated Event for West & Central Africa

 WaCA Mining Summit Expo

The Most-Established and Dedicated Event for West & Central Africa

Bringing Together Mining Ministries and Commissions, Major and Junior Mining Companies and Operators, Global and Local Mining Products, Technology & Solutions Providers, Financiers and Investors

The West and Central African countries such as Ghana, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Liberia, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone contain some of the world's largest, untapped, high-grade iron ore and gold deposits. There is a phenomenal rush of mining interest in this region.

WaCA Mining unites mining companies with investors and government officials to explore the latest projects and development opportunities across the West & Central African region: the No. 1 mining business industry event!

"A great place to connect with influencial players in mining in West & Central Africa."
Eduan Pieter, VBKom Projects (Pty) Ltd

"My overall impression was very good.
Looking forward to following-up on the contacts made."
Tredeep Timmal, TPT Workwear (Pty) Ltd

"It was a successful summit."
Normanyo A Tetteh, 888 Investments Ghana Ltd

"Very well-planned. Participation was good."
Jerry Ahadjie, Minerals Commission (Ghana)

"Well conducted."
A R Krishnan, Scaw Ghana Ltd

Some past trade show exhibitors:

888 | Veolia Gold Fields Ghana (GFG) | Newco VBKom WBHO Construction Pty Ltd | NITROERG SA | ALS Minerals | Newmont Ghana | Beak Consultants | GmbH | DUO Africa Cummins Inc | Allied Home Stores Ltd  | Defawes Red Sea Housing  Services | AAM | CGG Airborne Survey (CGG)  | GEORGETTE BARNES  LIMITED (GBL) | Aggreko Group Five | Solenis |  DREGGH Industrial Services Ltd | Mincon Rockdrills | Austin Powder International | United Spectrometer Technologies CC ("US TECH") | GSE Environmental | Star Trace Geotech | Sepro Mineral Systems Limited |Deswik | Skylinks Technical Services Ltd (STS) | ACT ICT Ghana | KSB Minerals Commission Ghana-based | Rana Motors & Metal Works Eng Co Ltd  | REM&COIL Trade and Investment | KwaZulu-Natal | A.L. Engineering | ARB Electrical Wholesalers | Blaizepoint Trading  | Cathexis | Connect.co | Fibsol (Fibre Reinforcing Solutions) | Land Resources International | Rock Solid Industries PTY (Ltd) | African valve sector | Wanscan Consulting cc | WearCheck Africa | Sunbabsco | Beak Consultants | ALS Minerals

For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact: patrick@magenta-global.com.sg

Emerging Asia FinTech & Agent Banking Summit 2016

Banks, Financial Institutions & FinTech as Agents of Change

Myanmar's banking sector is undergoing rapid transformation as more foreign banks are granted licenses, new regulations effected and technological infrastructure ramping-up. The country is in the middle of a positive economic transition and its market widely regarded as the last true frontier filled with real opportunities.

Myanmar's financial sector is the least developed in South East Asia, and given the sheer size of its emerging market, growth potentials continue to look very promising. With a population of more than 50 million, over 90% of its people are still unbanked. Agent banking has been identified as an effective vehicle to drive true financial inclusion driven by rapid mobile penetration rate - telcos are expected to cover 90% of the population within the next three years compared to 10% in 2013 - along with innovative financial technologies.

Additionally, financial technologies will be crucial for Myanmar banks to keep-up with the speed of reforms and its regional peers, especially with the recent entry of foreign banks and Myanmar's joining the ASEAN Economic Community market.

Key Facts Driving the Summit

•	Myanmar is at the tipping point of a financial landscape transformation. More international banks were recently granted licenses to operate in Myanmar and the Yangon Stock Exchange recently launched.
•	Mobile penetration in Myanmar exploded from approximately five million a few months ago to over 18 million current users. ICT infrastructure was also recently enhanced.
•	Despite strong recent economic growth, still less than 20% of the population can access banking services in a predominantly cash-based economy, with 70% of this population in rural areas.
•	The absence of traditional banking infrastructure makes it a prime territory for agent banking operations.
•	Banks and MFIs need new capabilities and innovative best practices to grow their businesses.
•	Other Asian countries undergoing digital transformation - such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and India - also create tremendous opportunities for FinTech.

Following the success of previous banking events in Myanmar combined with strong market demand, the inaugural Emerging Asia FinTech & Agent Banking Summit 2016 is set to deliver first-hand insights and robust opinions from industry experts to help you better strategize your FinTech and Agent Banking blueprints. Network with key industry players and seize the opportunity to benefit from the only authoritative platform that showcases and dissects real issues, providing you with a practical assessment of emerging opportunities from the region's financial transformation.

Exhibitors:  Media Partners:

For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact: patrick@magenta-global.com.sg

Being active in your industry trade association can bring with it many benefits - See more at: https://www.mastercardbiz.com/2013/06/19/5-reasons-you-should-attend-a-conference-in-your-field/#sthash.ZnCvbN1i.dpuf

Being active in your industry trade association can bring with it many benefits - See more at: https://www.mastercardbiz.com/2013/06/19/5-reasons-you-should-attend-a-conference-in-your-field/#sthash.ZnCvbN1i.dpuf

Mobile Money and Agent Banking in Myanmar 2017

During the Mobile Money and Agent Banking summit, Exhibitors from companies like ModeFinServer (team in photo), Software Group, Estel Technologies, TPS, Red Dot, True Money and Control Case showcased and explained how their respective products and services can help the mobile money services in Myanmar and Asia. Platinum Sponsor ConnectNPay, the umbrella brand for E-commerce payment technologies produced by Leo Tech (a software and IT services company based in Singapore), provides services on digitized records/billing and m-payments.

In the conference, Brad Jones (CEO of Wave Money) talked about Human Centered Design Approach in Developing Mobile Money. Richard Buttenshaw, commercial director of ConnectNPay, mentioned that “Bill payment via e-commerce, via electronic means, is no longer a possibility, no longer a hypothesis. It’s happening”. Aung Aung (Board of Directors, Myanmar Citizens Bank) mentioned that "Myanmar has many ways to develop the country's payment system, like producing more cash, or maybe improve the card society. But among them, I would say, to develop the mobile money system was the best idea for our country".

Agent banking on the other hand, plays a key role in performing banking transactions on behalf of a bank. In an article published by the Gates foundation, agent banking is cheaper to operate than branches. This means that the agent banking system improves the economics of service providers like banks and other financial institutions. As more international banks were recently granted licenses to operate in Myanmar, this should be a win-win situation for both consumers and service providers.
Myanmar Mobile Money and Agent Banking updates and discussions will continue on February 21 - 22, 2017 at the Park Royal Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar. Few of the many critical topics to be discussed are Financial Regulations, Technologies and Licenses.

As the country continues to attract international companies, we are seeing new players in the market. An upcoming sponsor, GHL Systems, said that "During this summit, we hope to meet and connect with financial institutions, telcos, regulators and technology partners in the industry. Our goal is to set up a local business and export our regional payment expertise & experience into Myanmar".
An interesting and important topic, blockchain technology, will be discussed by Alexi Lane, CEO of Everex. He said that "In 2017 we will see more real application of the blockchain technology not only for the financial services industry, but for any company that manages a large amount of transaction data. For the money service providers, integrating blockchain solutions in their businesses will create more opportunities, reduce cost, and expand markets of operations. Raise of smart contracts will impulse cross-border commerce, p2p lending and crowdfunding that will be the most popular use cases". Also an upcoming exhibitor, he added that "We are very pleased to participate for the first time in 8th Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit and looking to share our knowledge, experience, and make new friends and partners".

 

We are inviting Regulators, Telecom Operators, Banks, e-Wallets and M-money Solution Providers, Consulting Firms, VCs, Payment Infrastructure Providers, E-ticketing Platform Developers, Mobile Messaging / Application Software Developers, Mobile Commerce Solution Providers and Industry Verticals (including retail merchants, utility companies, governments and all companies with payment channels)

TV news and media coverage of the 2016 Myanmar Mobile Money Conference:

MITV- Myanmar International Television

Kamayut Media

 

Exhibitors:

The 8th Mobile Money & Agent Banking Summit 2017 presents a unique opportunity for your organisation to be showcased as an important player in the Greater Mekong Subregion's (GMS) financial and telecommunications ecosystem. Showcase your expertise and products through our customised exhibition and sponsorship packages which will reinforce your corporate branding and thought leadership position in the industry amongst finance and telecommunications regulators, investors and stakeholders who are already establishing the necessary mobile payments infrastructure in their respective countries.

Sponsorship is a strategic and cost-effective way of reaching out to these key decision makers, allowing you to forge relationship and raise your company profile in this sub-region.

Our team will be happy to discuss unique and customized package to suit your business objectives. 

For sponsorship and exhibit information on this event, please contact:

Patrick Velasco

Sponsorship and Exhibition

Email: patrick@magenta-global.com.sg

Phone: +6582635180

About Magenta Global

Our Mission

Magenta Global is a premier independent multi-disciplinary business media company. We are committed to providing specialist, pragmatic and high value information & knowledge to business executives and professionals worldwide. Helmed by a team, with a combined industry experience of more than 50 years, Magenta Global is dedicated to equip businesses with research information, events, trade exhibitions, training solutions and peer to peer executive programs.

We serve clients with a global portfolio of more than 100 events covering various verticals & geographies. Key focus areas are:

• Energy & Renewables
• Telecoms & IT
• Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
• Banking and Insurance
• Business Management & Strategy
• Agribusiness & Softs
• Mining & Metals
• Infrastructure & Investment
• Maritime & Trade

In each of the sectors, Magenta Global organises training courses, specialist business forums and international conferences & exhibitions. Working in close partnership with both industry and governments, these events serve to provide cutting edge information and networking platform, acting as vehicles to promote investments, commerce & technology transfer.


Our Values

Core to our business is the distinctive human touch – we place top value on happy clients & a happy team.

We are a professional team with integrity, objectivity & passion for excellence. We are fully committed to the highest quality of information delivered.

Respect & value are the foundation of all our collaborative projects.


Our Clients

Magenta Global works with global corporations, SMEs, industry consortia, government agencies, international organizations, professional trade & technical associations. We have developed win-win relationship with many of our clients and sponsors.

Our clients represent the who’s who of global businesses.


Delegates by Region





Our Worldwide Clients

Our Partners

Magenta Global works with global corporations, SMEs, industry consortia, government agencies, international organizations, professional trade & technical associations.

We have developed win-win relationship with many of our clients and sponsors. Our partners are the leading players in the international oil, gas, power, telecommunications, healthcare, banking & finance sectors.

Sponsors:

Supporting Organizations: