POST EVENT REPORT-CARDEXPOI EAST AFRICA 2009

The 4th edition of the Annual International Conference and Exhibition on Cards & Allied Technologies tagged CardExpo East Africa 2009 , organized by Intermarc Consulting Limited  was held on the 5th & 6th November 2009 in the exhibition Hall of the  Sarit Center, Nairobi, Kenya.

The theme was “achieving a sustainable credit and debit card operation in a global credit crunch”. The event was aimed at harnessing and optimizing the benefits of a credit and debit card operation in a plummeting economy, especially in a continent where electronic payment systems are still undermined, these innovations will enable financial institutions and other relevant sectors overcome previous constraints to growth. CardExpo East Africa 2009 also served as a medium to showcase the latest innovations and technologies available in the field of ebanking and electronic payments in East Africa.

DAY 1:

CardExpo East Africa 2009, kicked off at 9:00am on Thursday, 5th November 2009 with the entry of delegates from banks and card companies across Nairobi. The opening ceremony took off at 10:30am with a welcome address by the Senior Partner of Intermarc Consulting Ltd- Mrs Chinedu Ibisi.

The opening ceremony had in attendance, 80 delegates from relevant organizations; it also featured renown speakers from key organizations in Nairobi and beyond such as:

The opening ceremony ended at 1:00pm after which the tour of exhibition took place, which was led by Chinedu Ibisi, Senior Partner of Intermarc Consulting Ltd. The delegates were then treated to lunch which gave room for more networking and interaction. Afterwards, the delegates converged in the conference hall at 2:30pm for the “Collection Strategy Forum” which was taken by Stephen Leonard , CEO, PICSolutions, UAE. The event also featured an open session for students, this session was taken by Peter Wakasiaka of Computer Learning Center (CLC). The open session ran concurrently with the collection strategy forum.

DAY 2

CardExpo East Africa 2009 progressed on Friday the 5th November 2009 at 9:00am with the Coffee & tea break followed by the ATM Forum which started at 10:30am and ended at 11:25am, the forum was taken by David Abbott of Planet payment Inc, UK. Next was the Risk & Fraud Mangement Forum which was taken by Graham Beck, COO Xantium Integrated Solutions (pty), SA. Thence, the Card Forum commenced at 12:53pm and ended at 2:15pm. The Card Forum was taken by Malek Mroueh of TSYS International, UAE.

CardExpo East Africa 2009 was rounded off with a recap session which featured Catherine Mogambi of Commercial Bank of Africa(CBA)/Kenya Credit & Debit Card  Association(KCDCA), Kenya, Malek Mroueh of TSYS International, UEA  and Graham Gilmour of The Business Phone Place.

Some of our key sponsors from across continent include: S2M- Morrocco,Expand Technology-Mauritius,PICSolutions- UAE, ICTBoard-Kenya, CRB Africa Ltd-Kenya, CardTechnology Africa (CTA)- Nigeria etc

CardExpo East Africa 2009 was attended by delegates from the Kenyan Banks, card companies, softeware companies, solution providers, mobile payment organizations. Total number of participants for the duration of the conference was a quarter of a thousand.

CardExpo East Africa 2010:
Plans have commenced to host the 5th edition of event, which is scheduled for the 23rd & 24th September 2010, to hold in the heart of Nairobi. The objective of this event is to once again create a platform to strategize on ways to set electronic payment processes in the East African region at par with what is obtained in the western world. Hence, CardExpo East Africa 2010 will take on a broader scope to inculcate allied technology providers, mobile payment platforms, microfinance, amongst others. This expansion is of the essence because of the anticipated growth in the East African region.

This is truly an African Technology conference with focus on real and relevant issues and a strong determination to grow the African market. This edition is designed and guaranteed to bring together decision makers in the epayment space and international speakers from regions such as Asia, Europe, America, Middle East and other parts of Africa. It will also attract over 2,000 members of the public who are seeking information and knowledge on electronic payment processes and its benefits and how to be included in the emerging card and epayment space.