Carmelle M. Cadet is the Founder and CEO of EMTECH, a technology company working with central banks around the world to make their financial infrastructures inclusive and resilient
by design. At EMTECH, Carmelle leads the vision of developing the next generation central banking infrastructure to drive financial inclusion, economic development and modernization of regulatory environments. From Digital Regulatory Sandbox to Digital Cash Platform (Central Bank Digital Currency), Carmelle and her highly experienced team of former regulators and experienced engineers, present groundbreaking and actionable
tech solutions to solve current economic challenges.

A thought leader and public speaker in fintech and regulatory innovation, Carmelle also advises other women, minority fintech entrepreneurs. She has won and has been nominated for several awards for her leadership and trailblazing work.

In her previous life, Carmelle was the Deputy CFO for IBM Blockchain where she spearheaded
the global product commercialization and financial management strategy. With clients like
Walmart, JPM Chase, Softbank, Carmelle oversaw the launch of several groundbreaking
technologies that drove better food safety, strong cybersecurity and supply chain digitization.
She joined the company as a Financial Analyst, and when Carmelle took over as Product CFO
she helped lead a highly successful product launch that created 200+ jobs while driving strong
revenue growth to over $100M in 3 years.

Carmelle earned her Executive .M.B.A. from the New York University Stern School of Business
with specializations in Leadership and Global Business, and her B.A. from Florida Atlantic
University. She is originally from Haiti, but now lives in NYC with her husband and son.

Marwan Forzley is an innovator and a visionary who’s passionate about building companies through disruptive technologies and global strategies. After founding and selling eBillme, Marwan became the GM of eCommerce and Strategic Partnerships at Western Union.

Marwan is now the co-founder and CEO of Veem, an organization which helps businesses transfer money domestically and internationally. Trusted by over 800,000 users all around the globe, Veem is transforming how businesses pay and get paid with time-saving Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable automations, and flexible payment options in over 100 countries and 70+ currencies.

Brevard Nelson is the Co-Founder & Director of Caribbean Ideas Ltd the parent company of Synapse, Academy and Influence and is also Managing Director of Synapse, the subsidiary dedicated to helping Caribbean brands and businesses become more globally successful and influential, through the power of technology and modern marketing techniques.

He has over 25 years of experience in balancing Left-brain activities (Digital solutions, Coding, Data analysis, Fintech) & Right-brain activities (Music, dancing, the Creative Arts & Storytelling). Brevard’s experience includes working in a FinServ group for 10+ years, providing digital solutions for a leading commercial bank for 8+ years and serving on the board of a regional financial Institution for 2+ years.

Brevard completed an Executive Education Programme at the Harvard Business School in 2012 and holds Master’s Degrees in Management, International Marketing Communications, and also completed Fintech and AI certifications from the Wharton Business School.

Martin Kwame Awagah is an experienced Digital Economy Specialist and FinTech Expert with expertise in economic research, governance, public policy, financial inclusion, international development, and project management. He is recognized for his contributions to the advancement of financial technologies (fintechs) and digital/mobile payment institutions in Ghana. Martin holds key leadership positions and plays a pivotal role in promoting financial technology innovation, knowledge sharing, and capacity building within the fintech ecosystem. 

He is presently a Board Member of the Africa FinTech Network (AFN), a continental platform that unites Africa fintech leaders, organizations and stakeholders through their country associations to exchange information and ideas, promote and support creation of innovative technologies and deployment across and beyond Africa.

The Network also serve as a platform for advocacy and coordinated regulatory interactions. Additionally, he serves as the President of the Ghana FinTech and Payments Association, the official advocacy and mouthpiece institution of fintech and digital payments fraternity in Ghana, championing the regulatory landscape and innovative solutions across the country.

Annie is a Private Sector Development specialist and Financial Inclusion expert with a Harvard MBA and 20 years of management consulting, entrepreneurial, and volunteer experience in over 50 countries. After four years at IDB leading a multi-million portfolio to stimulate innovation and productivity in the Caribbean, she helped different regional organisations drive digital transformation and resilience in the region. She currently works for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) on improving access to digital financial services for MSMEs. Annie was invited to present her research and engage policy makers at the SIDS Global Business Network Forum during the 4th International Conference on SIDS in Antigua. She began her career in 2001 at Deloitte Consulting in Montréal as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and immigrated to Barbados in 2006.

Michelle Beyo is the CEO and Founder of Finavator an award winning payments and future of finance consultancy. Michelle brings 20+ years of expertise from across multiple industries including Payments, Loyalty, Telco, Digital Identity and Open Data. Her leadership has help drive innovation in both retail and payments sectors, fostering strategic growth for numerous North American companies.

She is recognized as a global thought leader as was as TedX speaker and has spoken on stages worldwide, includingMoney20/20,Fintech Meet Up and Open Banking Expo with a passion to igniting discussions on the future of finance. She is a Money20/20 RiseUp alumni and mentor as well as serves as an Advisory Board Member to Tillo Rewards as well as VoPay. She is a Board Member and the President at Open Banking Network Canada OFNC, championing for data rights, transparency, and security in the financial landscape. She is also the creator and instructor for Finavator’s Future of Finance Master Class 

(https:/finavatorfuturefinancemasterclass.com/)

Michelle has been recognized for many awards including “Fintech Female Entrepreneur 2024 -North America” as well as  “Top 50 Women Leaders of Toronto 2023″and WXN CEDI 2023 Board Award for Canadian Equity, and Diversity. Michelle has also received a spot on the “Women in Fintech Global Power List” in 2021. Michelle is also a contributing author to the USA best seller “Habits of Success” by Leaders Press. 

Senator Blackman is the Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment of Barbados. With over twenty years of experience in international development, he possesses tremendous insight to the myriad of challenges and opportunities faced by countries in the Global South.

Minister Blackman previously served as a Consultant in Youth Development at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, as well as a Partner in St. Lucia-based law firm with a specialization in international trade and data protection law.

He served as Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Nations at Geneva, Vienna and Rome, as well as Ambassador to Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Serbia. During his tenure, he served in various committees in the WTO, UNCTAD, including Chair of the Trade and Environment Committee, and Trade and Development Committee of the WTO, the President of the G77 and China in Geneva, as well as on the Global Board of the UN International Gender Champions.

He later joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) as Senior Advisor to the Director-General with responsibility in Cabinet for Latin America & The Caribbean, Africa and Arab States; External Relations; Legal Affairs, the ILO’s Tribunal and Corporate Services.

Minister Blackman has both the LLB Law and LLM International Trade Law from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and is an Associate Member of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Born and raised in Seattle, Chris Cochran began his professional career as an on-air radio talent. Recognizing a need for leadership training, he transitioned to working with students and adults in churches and schools in Idaho and Washington.

In 2005, Cochran launched a daily podcast called “The Car Cast,” which was among the first 10,000 podcasts on the internet. He leveraged his experience in radio and podcasting to create a new media consulting company, later shifting to IT consulting, where he spent over 15 years, including roles as an executive in the consulting industry.

In 2015, Chris co-founded the economic development company Innovation Collective and relocated to North Idaho.

In 2021, Chris left IC to start his own consulting firm, Cochran Advisors, where he worked with municipalities, tribes, chambers of commerce, and startups. Chris is currently the Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders.

It was 1995. Ciceron was born over drinks and dinner at an Italian bistro in San Francisco as one of the first digital agencies in the US.

The Web was a wee bit back then. There was no Google. No YouTube. No WiFi. No streaming audio, video or on-demand programming. People hated it when web pages had images on them because they would have to wait for them to load. 

Fast forward to 2024. The firm Andrew Eklund founded that day has been consistently recognized as one of the most innovative, boundary-pushing by AdWeek, Inc. 5000, and the Business Journal’s Fast 50, having stuck to its guns that digital consumer experience is still the most significant, game-changing business influence of the past century. Entire markets have emerged as a result of disintermediation and disruption of traditional business models. Power shifts constantly. Simply stated, those who are nimble, open, and adaptive win.

Andrew is a sought after speaker on a host of topics related to digital transformation, from the advancement of AI and business intelligence to data-driven marketing performance models.

Aaron Grinhaus LL.B., J.D., LL.M. (Tax) is a business and international tax lawyer, writer, professor, Web3 law expert and founder of Grinhaus Law Firm (grinhauslaw.ca) based in Toronto with associate offices across Canada. Aaron frequently gives presentations on a variety of business, international tax and regulatory law related topics and has acted as chair, presenter and lecturer through a number of educational institutions and organizations. He regularly advises on international tax structuring and Web3 law and is an Adjunct Professor of International Tax Law as well as Faculty and Co-Director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s prestigious Web3, Blockchain and Metaverse Law Certificate Program. In 2019 he published “A Practical Guide to Blockchain and Smart Contract Law” (LexisNexis: 2019), the world’s first textbook on Web3 law, which is now in its 3rd and international editions. In January 2022 Grinhaus Law Firm became the first law firm in Canada (and one of only a few in the world) to establish an office in the Metaverse in Decentraland and in 2023 he was a founding member of the Metaverse Bar Association (MetBA.io).

Aaron holds law degrees from the University of Ottawa (LL.B.), Michigan State University College of Law (J.D.) and a Masters in Tax Law from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University (LL.M.)

Dr. Terri-Karelle Johnson, is a human ethernet – connector of people and dots! TV Presenter, International Event Host, Speaker, Best-selling Author of ‘My Brand Compass.’ Her podcast ‘Redirection with Terri-Karelle’ is the #1 Caribbean podcast in the world and she is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Open Door Jamaica Foundation which caters to children and young adults with disabilities.

Oliver Jordan is co-founder and Managing Director of Caribbean Strategic Advisors Inc. a Barbados-based firm offering services in the areas of renewable energy & infrastructure finance, digital & financial infrastructure, investment advisory, financial modelling and corporate governance advisory.

Since 2021 he has served as Chairman of the Financial Services Commission of Barbados (responsible for supervising and regulating the island’s non-bank financial institutions including all insurance companies) and is also Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Barbados for the reform of State Owned Entities. He is a Council Member of the University of the West Indies and Chairman of the University’s Audit Committee.

Oliver has extensive Banking, Insurance and Consulting experience from his previous roles as Managing Director (Barbados and Eastern Caribbean) for CIBC Caribbbean Bank, Chief Operating Officer for the Insurance Corporation of Barbados (the largest general insurnace company in Barbados) and Partner & Head of Advisory Services with PwC East Caribbean. He is also a past President of the Barbados Bankers Association.

Oliver holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, and an MBA in Banking & Financial Services from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, Canada and is also certified as a Corporate Director (ICD.D) by the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.

Sanjib is Chairman of Fintech Meetup, the fastest growing major fintech conference in North America. Sanjib is also Founder & CEO of Guppy, a fintech startup focused on self-sovereign credit data.

Sanjib has built and launched over 20 products and businesses including being a founding engineer on Intel’s graphics chip business, the first Chief Marketing Officer at Money20/20, and a member of or advisor to over 10 startups resulting in investments or exits totalling over $2 billion. He is a former Googler, having worked on Google Wallet to bring new capabilities for live commerce and e-commerce. He was also a Senior Vice President in Citi’s consumer business.

Sanjib has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and BS and M.Eng. from Cornell University, where he built lasers, electric cars, hi-fi audio systems, and AI systems for EKGs classification. He is a patent holder and developed a programming language used by Intel for nearly 30 years.

Asif R. Khan is a proud Canadian and veteran tech startup, business-development and marketing entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience in building high-performance startups. He is currently the Founder and CEO of GroundLevel Insights, a movement science company leveraging consumer location data to inform business insights and analytics and the creator of the free CANATRACE platform. Asif is also the founder of the Location Based Marketing Association (The LBMA) — an international group with operations in over 30 countries dedicated to research and education in the space — and a desired advisor to the FCC, CRTC and Ontario Privacy Commission on the development of privacy laws regarding the use of location data.

Asif holds degrees in economics and management sciences from the University of Waterloo and is a regular guest lecturer at his alma mater as well as at Ryerson University, Penn State, University of Texas.

Marcia Klingensmith, known globally as the “Instant Payments Maven”, is the CEO of FinTech Consulting, LLC with a passion for innovation in the payments landscape. With over 20 years of experience of bringing products and services to market at Fortune 500 companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Visa, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and FIS Global.

Her deep expertise spans banking transformation, instant payments, ISO200222 (the Financial Rosetta Stone), cross-border transactions, and the future of money. Marcia is a trusted advisor who helps financial institutions and fintechs in North America, South America, and the Caribbean navigate the ever-evolving world of payments. She is committed to promoting conversations that push the boundaries of financial technology and empowers businesses to leverage its potential for growth.

Connect with Marcia at the FinTech Islands conference to explore how she can help you navigate your digital transformation journey.

Briana Marbury is the President & CEO of the Interledger Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit organization committed to expanding digital financial inclusion to vulnerable populations. In her role, Briana leads the strategic vision of the organization and has grown ILF from a small team of three to a global workforce of changemakers. Having firsthand experience in the challenges associated with navigating inequitable and inaccessible financial systems, Briana understands how imperative it is to enable communities an opportunity to create and lead their own financial futures.

Chia Marlow-Thomas is Business & Partnership Development Manager at First Atlantic Commerce/ Powertranz. FAC is the most connected payment gateway in the Caribbean and Central America, operating in 29 countries for over 25 years, powering over 10,000 merchants. Prior to joining FAC / Powertranz Chia was an Enterprise Sales Manager at PayPal UK and brings 10 years of experience in Global Fintech innovation. Chia has presented at Finovate London, Money2020 Europe, undertook a residency at the Plug & Play Technology accelerator in Silicon Valley and was named to Innovate Finance 100 Women in Fintech Powerlist 2016. She is passionate about driving online growth for merchants through payment innovation and orchestration and finding efficiencies through emerging technology adoption. 

Brian is a dual-qualified advocate, i.e. a Barrister of England and Wales (Non-Practising) and an Attorney-at-Law in Trinidad and Tobago. An expert in anti-money laundering, crypto asset recovery, and financial regulatory compliance, he frequently advises on these matters internationally. His research on digital asset regulation, DAOs, and DeFi is widely recognized, with features in SSRN’s Top Ten list and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computational Law Report.

Brian’s scholarly work explores the use of AI, blockchain, and smart contracts for trust and transparency in public procurement, impacting legal tech and business automation. As the Founder of Blockchain Lex Group and CryptoMondays Caribbean, he leads a rapidly growing community of entrepreneurs and fintech entities. His leadership guides discussions on legal compliance, technological risks, and market strategies. His involvement in policy and legislative discourse in various jurisdictions establishes him as a leading researcher and respected voice in legal technology and business.

Head, FinTech and Innovation Bank of Ghana Background: Kwame Oppong is the Head of Fintech and Innovation at Bank of Ghana. His background spans Technology, Digital Financial Services (DFS) operations, policy development, and regulation. He has consulted for several governments, public sector institutions, international development organizations and private corporations globally. Prior to joining the Bank, Kwame worked with CGAP (World Bank Group), Millicom, Hewlett Packard Company (now HP EB) and other organizations in the banking, housing finance and health insurance industries. Kwame is a passionate advocate for financial inclusion, innovation, and the development of digital economies.

Since inception Ali has managed to grow Advertainment Media from a bootstrapped startup to a profitable company with turnover in the millions, while retaining 100% equity.
As well as shepherding bespoke video and media assets, he runs the content for Fintech Finance, interviewing some of the best and brightest representatives across the financial services landscape.

Richard Powell’s story is an inspiration. Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, he excelled as a teenager in both academics and athletics. After playing soccer for Jamaica at the U17 and U20 level, and considering an opportunity to play professionally in Europe, Richard ultimately decided to study economics at Harvard University, where he
represented the school in soccer and track & field, and founded his first company while still an undergraduate.

Now, with over two decades of experience in corporate finance, governance, business development, and principal investing in private and public companies, Richard is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor who has co-founded and led multiple successful ventures. Two of these were scaled to billion-dollar enterprises, these were:
Zerochaos, a global HR BPO that grew to 12,000 employees globally and $1.2 billion in revenues at exit, and most recently Project Black at Ariel Alternatives, a $1.4 billion private equity platform that aims to
create the next generation of large, global, diverse suppliers to the Fortune 500.

Richard is currently the Chairman of Sequential Technologies International, a global BPO headquartered in the USA, APC Holdings, a 20-year-old investment firm that partners with institutional investors and business owners to build lasting companies with measurable social impact, and The RMP Group, his family office. He is a YPO member and a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Perhaps most timely, he is currently putting together an innovative vehicle to invest over $2.0 billion of capital, with the flexibility to deploy in the US and Caribbean region, to address the demand in private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure assets.

Matteo Rizzi is an unconventional entrepreneur with two decades of experience in Financial Services, constantly referred amongst the top executives in the industry. He spent 13 years at SWIFT – where he co-founded Innotribe, the innovation arm of the cooperative, launching the first global startup challenge. Since 2013, he has had a FinTech Investor and/or Venture Partner role with global VCs and CVCs (20+ deals, 5 exits). In 2015, he co-founded FinTechStage (now FTSGroup.eu) – a platform for Investors and Innovators to boost FinTech innovation globally. In 2019, Matteo founded Timepledge.org a global initiative to foster financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. The same year he launched Breaking Banks Europe (as the Executive Producer). In 2023, he was appointed Senior Advisor for Elevandi (MAS). He is the author of “The FinTech Revolution” and “Talents & Rebels” and is fluent in 5 languages.

Self-made fintech entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Girasol Payment Solutions with strong knowledge in technology, payments, financial systems and operations.

Focusing on developing cutting edge solutions by revolutionizing the way payments platform operates and interacts between traditional banking and fintechs in the Caribbean and Latam.

Also passionate about developing an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the Caribbean Region.

Prof Iwa Salami is a Professor of Financial Law and Regulation at the School of Business and Law, University of East London (UEL). She is also the Director of the Centre of FinTech at UEL.

She has published extensively in the field of financial and FinTech regulation and has advised governments, including in Europe and Africa, on this subject. She has sat on national and international policy forums on the future of finance and money, which have resulted in the drafting of national and international regulation and standards. Her previous research, which led to book publications and articles in peer-reviewed journals, focused on financial regulation in emerging economies. Her current research focuses, amongst other things, on the implications of artificial intelligence on financial systems and regulation; legal and regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, decentralised finance (DeFi) and for the adoption of retail and wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies. Her book, Financial Technology Law and Regulation in Africa, which was published in 2024, has been described as a masterpiece.

She was appointed by the Bank of England and H M Treasury to sit on the Central Bank Digital Currency Academic Advisory Group (CBDC AAG) in November 2023. The CBDC AAG is run jointly by HM Treasury and the Bank of England. Its aim is to provide expert advice during the design phase of the digital pound.

She holds a PhD in Law from Queen Mary, University of London and an LLM from King’s College London.

Eyal Sivan, also known as Mr. Open Banking, is one of the foremost global experts in the open banking space.

In his efforts to drive advancements in open banking worldwide, Eyal created the unique personal brand Mr. Open Banking. Under this persona, he hosts the only podcast dedicated to the open banking community, interviewing the key leaders, innovators and influencers who are driving the emergence of open banking around the globe. Since its launch in 2020, the podcast has grown to over 60 thousand subscribers, with Eyal being recognized by Open Future World as the number one Open Finance Influencer in the world for 2022. 

Today, Eyal is the General Manager for North America at Ozone API, global pioneers of open banking who’s platform powers some of the largest and most advanced data sharing ecosystems on the planet. In his role, he is responsible for expanding the firm’s global position as a leading open banking solution provider to the United States, Canada and beyond.

FinTech and payments c-suite leader, focused on forward looking vertical markets – e.g. disaster, cannabis, insurance, health, etc. CEO of Payments as a Lifeline – a 501c3 coalition and “network for good” of companies – FinTech, CareTech, Insurance, banking, and payments. PaaL Members enable government, corporates & nonprofits – to deliver disaster & aid funds to people fast, secure, with dignity. Her career has focused on “FinTech for Good” – across government and industry: banking, payments, insurance, health – working in range from start-ups to Fortune100s. She also works in AML & anti human trafficking , expert witness, testifies in Congress, 300+speeches.

AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics is a global leader in advancing Islamic banking and finance, With 16 years of dedicated service. AlHuda CIBE has been acknowledged as a distinguished service provider due to our notable services, team of dedicated professionals and one stop solutions of Islamic banking and finance. Our aim is to provide state-of-the-art services of Islamic banking and finance. We are proud to be prominent for our following quality services all over the world.

Advisory & Consultancy

Research & Development

Education & Capacity Building

Shariah Advisory

Publications & Events