Mozambique to host Conference on Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Sector

In pursuit of a more energetic and practical reflection on the Financial Sector and in the interest of improving the business environment from the enhancement and protection of national companies, Mozambique is set to host Conference on Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance Sector on September 13 and 14, 2023 at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Center, under the motto: ‘Digital Transformation for an Inclusive, Sustainable Financial System and BFSI Industry Development.’

The choice of the motto favors the importance of digital transformation as a means to achieve an inclusive and sustainable financial system while emphasizing the development of the financial and banking services industry (BFSI).

BACKGROUND

The last decades have been of great progress in the use of information and communication technologies in Africa in particular, and in the world in general. A study published by the World Bank indicates that the number of phone users in Africa is greater than the number of people with access to electricity or drinking water, but there is still much to be done at the level of systems, networks, cybersecurity, and insurance. In other words, technology is redefining the progress of societies and the COVID-19 pandemic only brought further acceleration to this transformation.

All statistics indicate that the digital revolution is a fact and is already underway globally, and in the African continent, it is no different. Its multiplier effects can be felt in sectors such as the Economy, Finance, Education, Health, Agriculture, Transport, Tourism, Industry, Trade, and Services. The forced use of the digital revolution as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for the integration of African economies, economic diversification, and growth of the continent.

With the rapid growth of digital technologies and changes in customer preferences, the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) sector has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. The use of digital platforms and technologies has become an integral part of the industry and has helped increase the speed, efficiency, and security of financial transactions.

At the same time, this transformation has also presented significant challenges, such as cyber threats, data privacy concerns, and regulatory compliance. This has led to the construction of opportunities, associated with the use of information and communication technologies being closely linked to the indispensability of building protection systems, in order to generate society’s confidence in the benefits of this digital transformation and the promising acceleration of the development resulting from artificial intelligence.

BFSI- BANKING FINANCIAL SERVICE AND INSURANCE

Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) is the term used to represent companies providing a wide range of financial products or services and comprises universal banking that provides financial services or companies that are not banks, operating in the financial sector. The BFSI comprises commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, non-bank financial companies, cooperatives, pension funds, mutual investment funds, and other smaller financial entities.

The financial sector has been inducing the transformation of other sectors of society in a decisive way by the products it has been creating over time, highlighting in a revolutionary way mobile banking. With the social transformation induced by covid-19, BFSI corporations have developed platforms to respond to market needs, the indispensability of fast and secure transactions for a growing number of users who previously used other types of services and more traditional products.

The change in ways of working with a larger and growing number of companies adopting work from home and workforce displacement with the possibility of company employees no longer needing to be in the same geographical space, not only increased the volume of digital products and services by BFSI corporations but also required investments to respond to this demand, offering adequate and competitive responses to a market that was already characterized, since the financial crisis of 2008, by a profound transformation in all sectors of activity due to the volume of capitalization of the economy with compensation to companies.

Digital innovation in BFSI will consequently tend to be increasingly decisive for the growth of the global economy and fundamental for social equity through financial inclusion and reduction of insurance investment risks.

PURPOSES

The Digital transformation in the BFSI sector draws a reality that generates new opportunities and challenges, it is rapidly changing the way people interact with financial services. With the spread of mobile devices and the growing popularity of digital banking, consumers increasingly expect convenient, affordable, and personalized financial services. To keep up with these changes, financial institutions need to adopt digital technologies and continuously innovate to deliver more inclusive, sustainable, and relevant financial solutions.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together key people with an impact on the development of the sector, who can share their experiences and capacities to support other participants in the perception of changes and trends, while also being an opportunity for participants to strengthen and establish relationships with potential partners.

It is also the purpose of the conference to produce a joint reflection among stakeholders on the process of digital transformation, and through this, create vehicles that streamline the implementation processes of technically supported and strategically defined recommendations.