The Future Is Digital, Borderless, And African: Key Insights From Sitoyo Lopokoiyit’s Keynote At Fitspa 2025

The 7th FITSPA Annual Fintech Conference 2025 brought together hundreds of innovators, policymakers, and investors under one roof, but one of the most powerful voices of the event came from Mr. Sitoyo Lopokoiyit MBS, CEO M-PESA Africa, whose keynote address delivered a clear message: Africa’s digital revolution has only just begun, and it must be built on collaboration, purpose, and innovation.

Mr. Sitoyo’s presentation, titled “The Future of Mobile Money and Fintech in Africa,” set the tone for a day that challenged the industry to think boldly and act collectively. His keynote presentation focused on the opportunity for investing in Africa and emerging trends including neobanks, digital currencies, and agentic commerce. This includes factors that are driving adoption of digital currencies and growing popularity of neobanks, and what opportunities agentic commerce will present for customers, businesses and fintech players. He also spoke on evolution of the industry and how fintech providers can transform the lives of customers through digitization of government services, highlighting the success of the fertilizer e-subsidy programs in Kenya and Mozambique.

Reimagining Africa’s Digital Economy

In his keynote, Mr. Lopokoiyit explored the next frontier of fintech innovation — where mobile money, artificial intelligence, and digital currencies converge to reshape economies and empower billions. He emphasized that while mobile money has already transformed the inancial landscape, Africa’s next growth wave will come from agentic commerce, neobanks, and interoperable ecosystems that enable individuals and small businesses to fully participate in the digital economy.

We are entering a new era where fintech is no longer just about payments — it’s about building digital economies that empower every African, and our responsibility as industry leaders is to design solutions that are inclusive, sustainable, and built with purpose.

Agentic Commerce and the Rise of Digital Inclusion

One of the most thought-provoking ideas from Sitoyo’s keynote was his discussion on agentic commerce, the integration of artificial intelligence and automation into digital marketplaces. He explained that as customers and businesses increasingly interact through digital platforms, the future will depend on fintechs’ ability to leverage technology to anticipate needs, personalize services, and drive financial literacy.

This presents new opportunities for African entrepreneurs and developers to build intelligent systems that simplify access to finance, credit, and trade, particularly for small businesses that have long been excluded from formal markets.

From Kenya to the Continent: Lessons in Scale

Drawing from M-PESA’s journey, which began in Kenya and now connects over 60 million customers across multiple African countries, Mr. Lopokoiyit highlighted the power of scalability and local adaptation. He cited the fertilizer e-subsidy programs in Kenya and Mozambique as successful examples of how fintech partnerships with governments can transform service delivery, improve efficiency, and ensure that digital innovation drives real social and economic outcomes.

The success of fintech is not in technology alone, but in how it improves lives, how it helps farmers access inputs, students pay fees, and businesses grow sustainably.

The Founders Panel: Conversations that Matter

Following his keynote, Mr. Lopokoiyit joined Mulinge Sylvia, M.B.S. (CEO, MTN Uganda) and Richard Yego (CEO, MTN MoMo Uganda) for the Founders Panel, moderated by Peter Kawumi, Managing Director, Interswitch East Africa. The panel explored the future of fintech leadership, partnerships, and purpose — and how African founders can navigate the challenges of scaling in rapidly evolving markets.

Mr. Sitoyo Lopokoyit highlighted how African fintech players can take advantage of globalisation and digitisation, the importance of purpose and partnerships, how fintech players can navigate disruption, sustainability, and on what opportunities exist in the industry, and on leadership.

He also emphasized that purpose-driven leadership and cross-border collaboration will define the next phase of Africa’s fintech evolution. He urged players to move beyond competition and instead focus on building interoperable systems that enable regional trade and integration.

Africa’s biggest opportunity lies in our unity and when fintechs collaborate across borders, we unlock value not just for one country, but for the continent.

A Call to Action for the African Fintech Community

Mr. Lopokoiyit’s address and insights set the tone for the broader conversations throughout the conference; reinforcing the importance of innovation, talent development, and access to high-risk capital, themes also echoed by FITSPA Board Chair Vincent Tumwijukye in his opening reflections. As the CEO of one of Africa’s most successful digital finance platforms, Sitoyo’s words carried both experience and urgency. His challenge to the industry was clear:

Let’s not just digitize Africa. Let’s transform it.

Shaping the Future Together

The 7th FITSPA Annual Fintech Conference 2025 reaffirmed that Africa’s fintech journey is one of collaboration, courage, and creativity. Mr. Sitoyo Lopokoiyit MBS’s address captured that spirit, reminding everyone in the room that the continent’s future innovators are not just building apps or platforms; they are building Africa’s digital destiny.