Barbados to make fintech history

More than 300 delegates from across the globe and varying sectors within the fintech industry will converge in Barbados at the Hilton Barbados Resort from October 5 to 7, 2022 for the first ever global fintech conference in the Caribbean.

The Fintech Islands conference, whose mandate is to create a world-class event that will be a catalyst for the growth of the fintech ecosystem in the Caribbean, will feature renowned fintech leaders delivering key addresses and over 20 hours of curated content.

One major highlight is the welcome address by Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, who will also host an exclusive VIP meet and greet – both slated for day one of the conference.

“Our speaker lineup includes 100+ fintech leaders from around the globe. More than 60 per cent of speakers are founders and CEOs. More than 40 per cent of speakers are from outside of the Caribbean region, including fintech leaders from North America, LATAM, Europe and Africa,” explains Fintech Islands senior advisor and former Chief Content Officer for the Money20/20, Andrew B. Morris.

Morris further detailed session themes, confirming that the conference agenda features ‘four major themes particularly relevant to the context of our Caribbean venue: Financial Inclusion, Climate Fintech, Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance and Embedded and Open Finance.’

The conference has also attracted the attention of major global players within the fintech arena, securing strategic marketing partnerships with the likes of Mastercard, Delta Capital Group, Digicel Group, Republic Bank, Unipet and Visa.

Morris also confirmed that Platinum Sponsor Mastercard and Gold sponsor Digicel Group will be making a significant partnership announcement from the Fintech Islands main stage on the first day of the conference.

The conference will also afford delegates invaluable networking opportunities and immersive  island experiences, including an opening night reception at the Barbados Museum and island networking tours on conference day number two.

The 2022 agenda will culminate with the Fintech Islands Startup Pitch, presented by Draper Startup House Caricom, powered by Republic Bank. This session will spotlight seven promising early-stage fintech startups to an esteemed panel of judges, in a rapid-fire format that includes 2-minute pitches by each of the founders and four minutes of Q&A. The top three finalists will be presented with prizes including investments, cash awards, sponsorships to accelerator programmes and more.