Astute ICT entrepreneur and founder, CWG Plc., Mr. Austin Okere has confirmed his readiness to chair the third quarter forum of the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), slated for September 29 in Lagos.
Austin Okere is Founder of CWG Plc and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He has been Vice Chairman of CWG Plc., since June 2015 and currently, one of the Directors.
He serves as a member of the World Economic Forum Business Council on Innovation and Intrapreneurship. He serves on the Board of the National Competiveness Council of Nigeria and Initiative for Global Development; a Washington based nonprofit organization that drives poverty reduction by catalyzing business growth and investment in the developing world.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and serves as a member of the National Telecoms Advisory Council of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria, as well as a Fellow of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS).
Okere is Entrepreneur in Residence, Columbia Business School, New York.
The event is coming on the theme; ‘Digital Payment: Prospects and Challenges of a Financially Inclusive Nigeria’.A statement issued by the group, said already, industry stakeholders in the banking, ICT and FinTech sectors of the Nigerian economy have continued to throw their weight behind the event.
In a personally signed letter dated August 14, 2017, and addressed to NITRA, Mr. Okere said: “Thank you for the invitation to chair this event. I am honoured and pleased to accept. I trust I shall be receiving more information in due course.”
According to him, “Digital disruption is changing how traditional banking services, payments, and remittances are now offered in the digital economy. Almost all sectors of financial services including payments, money transfers, banking and more are being re-imagined by non-traditional providers and FinTechs, while the traditional incumbent providers are reinventing themselves very quickly to understand better, the puzzle presented by FinTech and how they can leverage on the digital movement”.
The statement further revealed that the event, considered as the gathering of eagles in the nation’s ICT, will not only highlight the challenges and opportunities in the FinTech space in Nigeria, but also provide knowledge and networking platform that will bring the Nigeria Fintech industry at par with its counterparts across the globe.
The statement signed by NITRA Secretary, Mr. Justus Adejumo noted that “The event also offers the Banking, ICT and FinTech industries an excellent opportunity to showcase some of their achievements before the largest gathering of the sectors players under one roof. It affords them the opportunity to share their contributions to Digital Payments as well as efforts towards actualizing financial inclusion in the country”.
It would be recalled that Prince Stan Okenwa, the founder and publisher of Business Hilights, served as the pioneer Vice President of NITRA.
