By Alvyn Ulrish Shad Savrimuthu
The Mauritius Africa Fintech Hub, in collaboration with Duke Corporate Education and Global Exec, hosted a powerful and timely panel discussion centred on the future of financial services across Africa. The event welcomed 60 early-career African delegates from Absa, a cohort representing the next generation of leaders within the banking and finance ecosystem. Designed to provoke thought and inspire innovation, the panel unpacked key themes shaping the financial landscape, from digital transformation and customer-centric models to the foundations of trust and inclusion in a digital-first economy.
The conversation brought together prominent voices from across the fintech sector, including Atul Bhatia, Chief FinTech Officer at blink by Emtel; Gareth Hiepner, Managing Director Africa at Seriti Solutions Mauritius; Uways Kureeman, Country Head and Director for Mauritius at Peach Payments; and Astrid Descelles, Head of Smart Commerce at MIPS. Drawing from decades of hands-on experience, the panellists shared personal journeys, industry insights, and compelling reflections on what it takes to build inclusive, scalable, and resilient financial systems on the continent.
Different paths to the same mission
Atul opened the discussion by offering a reflective and expansive look at his 25-year journey across Asia and Africa, having worked in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and multiple African nations. He traced the evolution of mobile technology and how, over time, mobile phones have transformed from exclusive luxury items to indispensable tools. “Today, it’s like electricity or water. You can’t imagine life without it.” For Atul, this transformation served as the starting point of his passion for innovation. His exposure to mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa (Mobile Money Platform in Kenya) grounded his view that innovation must always be tied to real-world necessity, especially when it comes to accessibility and financial inclusion for underserved communities.
Uways followed with his own story, rooted in the early days of government-led digital transformation in Mauritius. He recalled his experience launching the island’s first online tax platform and the challenges that came with trying to integrate with outdated banking systems. “We had no payment service providers and no aggregators. I had to go to the bank directly.” This frustration ultimately ignited his interest in fintech. Rather than simply replicating systems, he became motivated by the opportunity to rethink and redesign them, always through the lens of simplicity, adaptability, and a better user experience.
Gareth provided a legacy view, speaking from a long career embedded within traditional banking institutions. He painted a vivid picture of a time when financial processes were still reliant on tools such as fax machines and paper documentation. His role evolved as the demand for digitalisation increased, and he began leading digital transformation efforts from within. “I didn’t choose fintech. It chose me,” he said, with a smile. He reminded the room that while new technologies often get blamed for resistance, the true obstacle to progress is often internal culture. “Resistance to change often comes from within organisations, not from the systems themselves.”
Astrid brought a more personal and emotional perspective. Without a background in finance, she entered the fintech world by following her instinct. “I wanted to do something new. I dropped my CV at places without knowing exactly what I wanted. One of them called me back.” That small act of courage led her into the payments industry, where she now leads digital commerce transformation at MIPS. Her focus, she explained, is on the people side of fintech. She believes that trust, empathy, and emotional security are as vital to innovation as the technology itself. In her view, building successful digital products begins with understanding the fears and hesitations of real users.
Solving for inclusion
The conversation then moved into deeper terrain as the panellists were asked to identify the problem, they are most passionate about solving. Their responses revealed a common thread: designing systems that truly work for everyone.
For Atul, the answer was immediate. His passion lies in building for inclusion. “Let’s take your grandmother—or mine—living in a rural village. She only knows cash. She hides it under the mattress. But she has a phone. If our systems can’t reach her, we’ve failed.” With this example, he illustrated how exclusion often results not from lack of infrastructure but from a failure to empathise and design with those at the margins in mind. His challenge to the room was clear. Financial systems that do not work for the most vulnerable are inherently flawed.
Uways shared a memory from a trip to Zambia that fundamentally shifted his understanding of inclusion. He described how a financial transaction was completed inside a small, nondescript shop using just a mobile phone. “That was the moment it clicked. Inclusion isn’t about the app. It’s about access and trust.” For him, this was a reminder that inclusion is shaped by geography, human interaction, and familiarity. What may appear as a technical challenge is often a matter of trust and proximity.
Gareth reflected on the importance of language in digital design. He recounted a project in which user adoption stalled unexpectedly. “They got stuck at a certain point. They didn’t understand the lingo the banks used. So, we reworked the language.” By stripping away technical jargon and speaking the language of the user, his team witnessed a significant rise in engagement. It served as a reminder that innovation is sometimes found not by building something new but by translating what already exists into terms that make people feel seen.
Astrid added another layer to the conversation by speaking openly about fear as a barrier to inclusion. “People just stay too afraid. They are afraid to put in details online. Even young people.” She explained that even digital natives hesitate when it comes to online payments, especially in markets where scams and data breaches are common concerns. The pandemic may have accelerated adoption, but it did not erase underlying anxieties. “Fintech is also people. If they don’t feel safe, they won’t use it.”
Designing for real-world use
Atul brought the conversation to life by revisiting the origin story of M-Pesa, a now-iconic example of fintech innovation that transformed how money moves across rural Africa. He painted a vivid picture of the problem. “The problem was that people working in cities had to send money to their parents in villages. The only mode was cash through drivers. Most of the time, it never reached. M-Pesa changed that.” His message was grounded in the idea that innovation must solve real problems, not just offer sleek digital alternatives. In his view, systems that wait long before responding to urgent need often miss their moment. Innovation, he argued, moves at the speed of people, not policy. It begins with necessity and gains traction through impact. He spoke about how blink has fast tracked the digital payments in Mauritius. Riding on the Interoperability of the MauCAS platform has enabled digital payments in Mauritius. Gareth followed with a pointed reminder that organisations frequently use technical limitations as an excuse to delay transformation. “Our system cannot do what you want because it’s a legacy system. That’s the goriest excuse I’ve heard.” He explained that what is often labelled as a technology constraint is actually a cultural one. In many organisations, resistance is deeply embedded not in the code, but in the people managing it. Gareth encouraged delegates to see themselves as agents of change, capable of challenging internal processes that no longer serve users. He underscored the importance of stepping into the shoes of the customer, of being unafraid to question why things are done a certain way, and of having the courage to redesign them from the ground up. In his view, digital transformation is not simply a matter of upgrading systems. It is a shift in mindset, in which organisations must constantly ask, “Is this working for the people we serve?”
Uways added a regional layer to the discussion by reflecting on Peach Payments’ expansion into Senegal. His team had initially entered the market with confidence in their existing platform, assuming it could be replicated across borders. But reality quickly challenged that assumption. “We were trying to push what we had, but we were amazed to see that the market was driven by agents. So, we stopped and adapted.” Rather than continue forcing a model that did not align with local behaviours, his team stepped back, listened, and rebuilt. This experience was a critical reminder that no product is universally applicable. Markets are made up of people, and people behave differently across contexts. In Uways’ view, trust must be earned locally, and innovation must be responsive to the social dynamics, cultural nuances, and infrastructural limitations of the communities it hopes to serve. Copy-pasting a solution into a new environment is rarely effective unless that solution is willing to bend, stretch, and adapt.
Astrid brought the conversation full circle by grounding innovation in emotional reality. She acknowledged that even the most intuitive and accessible systems can fail if they do not address how users feel. “I always buy online. I love it. But others are afraid. What changed? The pandemic. People had no choice. So, we helped businesses tell users it was safe.” She explained that fear — especially when it comes to financial data, identity theft, or the risk of being scammed — is a powerful barrier to adoption. Many individuals, even those familiar with digital tools, hesitate when it comes to trust. For Astrid, innovation succeeds only when it bridges that emotional gap. It is not enough for systems to work flawlessly on a technical level. They must also feel safe, human, and transparent. She emphasised that part of her work at MIPS is to coach businesses not just on how to build digital tools, but on how to build confidence among their users.
Final thoughts
As the session ended, each panellist offered a parting message that reflected their personal philosophy and leadership ethos.
Atul encouraged participants to remove unnecessary complexity and to focus on function. “Digital transformation isn’t about making things fancy. It’s about making things easy.”
Uways invited delegates to reframe their approach with bold self-reflection. “Your salary doesn’t define your value. Ask yourself, if I had a million dollars to solve this problem, would I still be doing it the same way?”
Gareth delivered a note of quiet determination. “If the door doesn’t open, build your own entrance.”
Astrid closed with an empowering call to action. “If there’s no chair for you, bring your own. Be visible. Speak up. We’re building the future.”
The discussion stood as a masterclass in purpose-driven innovation. It reinforced that the future of finance in Africa will be shaped by those who design with empathy, lead with integrity, and act with courage. Those who listen first, ask better questions, and build for the people who need it most will be the ones who redefine the next generation of financial inclusion.
