World Bank Group Hub at UK FinTech Week – Harnessing the Power of FinTech and Digital Public Infrastructure

Julia Clark is a Senior Economist with the World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative, based in Washington, DC. She is a global expert on ID systems, services, and digital public infrastructure (DPI), with nearly 20 years of experience in the development sector, including with the World Bank and Center for Global Development. In her current role, Clark directs the Bank’s Global DPI Program and ID4D’s research and knowledge agenda. She has worked to help design and implement DPI in over 15 countries, including leading World Bank technical assistance programs for ID projects across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Recently, Clark co-authored the new White Paper on the World Bank Group’s approach to DPI.”

Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, a Zimbabwean national, is a Global Director in the Digital Vice Presidency, covering digital use, and also serves as the Director of Strategy and Operations.

Since joining the Bank in 1995 as a Young Professional, Pswarayi-Riddihough has worked in four different regions: South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She previously served as Country Director for Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. Her past roles also include Country Director for Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in South Asia, as well as Director of Operational Services from 2012 to 2014, where she supervised teams covering operations in financial management and procurement. Additionally, she has held various operational and corporate management positions, including Director of Strategy and Operations in the Human Resources Vice Presidency.

Jean Pesme, as Global Director, Finance in the Finance, Competitiveness & Investment  (FCI) Global Practice, Jean leads the World Bank’s work to promote the development of sound, stable, sustainable, and inclusive financial systems. His global team of experts works with governments and partners to make financial systems more resilient, to open access to finance for poor and vulnerable people, to support economic activity and to develop financial markets. Their strategy and its implementation emphasize development of digital financial services, addressing climate change and sustainable finance and creating opportunities for women by bolstering their financial inclusion.

Previously, Jean led the World Bank’s Financial Stability and Integrity global team, which assists countries in building and restoring robust and resilient financial systems operating with integrity, transparency and in compliance with international standards and recommendations. He has extensive experience working on financial sector issues, notably in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mohamed Omer Eissa is the Global Head of Venture Capital, Disruptive Technologies and Funds, at the International Finance Corporation (IFC-World Bank Group). As a member of the investment committee, he leads a global team of investment professionals in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern and Central Europe, and Asia.  IFC’s portfolio investments include venture capital funds and direct investments in disruptive startups in over 30 countries across a broad set of sectors, including SaaS, Climate, Health, Fintech, Mobility, and others.  Prior to IFC, he led technology investments at Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) – a joint fund with equal ownership by the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries’ sovereign wealth funds.   Mohamed also held operational roles (P&L) in technology in the US and venture capital investments at Bell Labs’ New Ventures Group.

Mohamed holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alastair Lukies CBE is a UK businessman and entrepreneur best known as a pioneer and champion for the UK’s global Fintech industry. He has been at the forefront of the UK’s Financial Technology industry, working with financial institutions, investors and regulators to promote collaboration and mutual benefit across the ecosystem.

Al is Founder and Chairman of Pollinate International. He is also Chairman of the Fintech Alliance, Vice-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council at Motive Partners, Advisor to the recently formed government backed FinTech Growth Fund and sits on the Prime Minister’s Business Council. Alastair is a global speaker on technology driven businesses and leadership.

Prior to Pollinate, Al founded Monitise and was awarded a CBE for services to mobile banking and charity in June 2014.

Niama El Bassunie is a founder, investor and advisor to technology companies in Africa and beyond. Most recently she joined The Baobab Network as Managing Partner. She is the CEO and founder of WaystoCap - the first Moroccan company to be backed by Y Combinator. She holds a Master’s in Decision Sciences and International Relations from the London School of Economics and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Niama started her career at PwC in the Energy Markets and Valuations team in London, working on projects for the US State Department in Afghanistan, and the national gas company of South Africa. Subsequently she set up her first venture in green energy, importing used cooking oil into the EU for use in transportation. As a former economic adviser to the Togolese Government, she worked on a project with Sir Paul Judge (the founder of the Cambridge Business School). She also spent time in Guinea working with the government and policymakers to clear the port of Conakry of scrap metal.

Gary Conroy is Chief Product Officer for TransferMate Global Payments, where he is committed to simplifying B2B cross-border payments. Gary brings more than 20 years’ experience working in banking and payments across consumer, business, card, international banking and FX with a proven track record of scaling payments and fintech companies globally. Gary has helped lead the change in growing the company into one of the world’s leading payments partners for banks and software providers, with recent deals with Wells Fargo, Coupa and TradeShift.

Sthembile Nkabinde is an investor with extensive experience across private equity, investment banking, venture building, and start-ups.  As the founder of KCP, a private equity investment vehicle at Investec Bank, Sthembile has led deals across the full investment cycle. As an angel investor and mentor, she actively supports female and underrepresented founders, helping them build transformative, impactful solutions. She is proud to work with organisations such as Google for Startups and The Table, where she contributes to empowering the next generation of leaders.

Zeiad Idris is Founder & CEO of Algbra, a UK-based fintech platform offering ethical, Sharia-compliant financial services and technology, aiming to empower communities and foster a more sustainable future. 

Prior to founding Algbra, Zeiad was Co-Founder & Managing Partner at New World Group (NWG), an FCA regulated global merchant banking & investment firm, where he successfully helped grow the business to >$2.5bn of AUM across asset management, real estate & technology. At NWG, Zeiad & his partners took the business to >25 territories, securing partnerships with leading corporates, family offices & financial institutions.

Zeiad began his career in the commodities division at Credit-Suisse in London. He holds an MSc. from the School of Oriental & African Studies (with Distinction) & a BA from King’s College London. Zeiad is also a member of the CFA Society of the UK & holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Toby Hanington is a Co-Founder at The Baobab Network. Toby has been working in the finance industry since 2013, when he began as Equity Finance Sales & Trading at UBS. In 2016, he became Co-Founder of The Baobab Network. In 2021, he joined Niya as a Board Member.

Adrienne Henderson is a Senior Investment Associate at Quona Capital on the Africa Cross-Border team. In this role, she focuses on the firm’s global strategy and cross-border investments while also working to foster the fintech ecosystem across the African region.

Before joining Quona, Adrienne built a diverse investment and advisory background spanning venture capital, private equity, and strategy consulting across the U.S., U.K., and Africa. She began her career with four years at Boston Consulting Group before transitioning into investing roles. She spent two years at the private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners before moving into early-stage investments in Kenya with Equator Venture Capital.

Adrienne holds an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University.