Africa and the Middle East: fintech as a force for good

By Nashwa Saleh

The assignments I worked on and colleagues I worked with over the course of my career at the EBRD provided me with a deep dive into the microstructure of various capital markets and segments, which I carried with me into subsequent posts.

These included: facilitating EBRD sourcing of local-currency funding in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia through cross-currency swap agreements with central bank reserve management teams or other instruments; contributing to the successful conclusion of agreements with three countries, with the EBRD the first international development institution to sign agreements of this nature with two countries; managing a treasury portfolio of US$ 35.0 million as part of our local-currency activities; and supporting the development of local-market interest-rate, yield-curve and foreign-exchange benchmarks.

I was honoured to be included in the Women in FinTech Powerlist 2022 and 2023 in the Industry and Knowledge Champions category, along with 17 other phenomenal women.

I am particularly proud of promoting fintech as a force for good in Africa and the Middle East, to contribute to better financial inclusion, access to finance and inward foreign direct investment across the region. One such activity involves promoting the fintech inclusion agenda through non-executive board roles, as an independent non-executive director (INED) and Risk Committee Chair with United Bank for Africa UK Ltd, the UK subsidiary of a leading pan-African institution, with a footprint in 22 African countries. My work also focuses on Egypt and Turkey, where, as an independent board member and through speaking engagements, I continue to promote fintech and financial inclusion.

I am also keen to improve learning about fintech and have designed and delivered modules on digital finance and digital banking in universities, primarily in the United Kingdom.

I believe that Fintech is a force for good and will continue to promote these opportunities across the economies in which the EBRD invests.