3rd Annual Conference on Alternative Finance (2018)

event calendar icon

28 Jun 2018

08:00 -18:30

29 Jun 2018

08:15 -18:00

Times are shown in local time.

Open to: All

event map pin icon

Cambridge Judge Business School

Trumpington St

Cambridge

CB2 1AG

United Kingdom

Overview

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance’s third annual Conference Reimagining Alternative Finance: Global Perspectives and Local Insights, took place on 29 and 30 June 2018 at Cambridge Judge Business School.

It was attended by 150 speakers and delegates from the global alternative finance industry, academics, policymakers, regulators and corporate leaders.

Following the success of the Centre’s previous conferences in 2016 and 2017 – the 2018 conference theme reflected the Centre’s global research activities and the need to critically examine the state, purpose, framework and impact of a rapidly maturing and constantly evolving alternative finance industry. 

Download the 2018 conference programme

CJBS interior.

Programme

The conference programme consisted of four panel sessions and five keynote speeches exploring the four keys themes of ‘Researching Alternative Finance: Global Perspectives and Local Insights’, ‘Inclusive Financial Innovation in Developing Countries & Emerging Markets’, ‘Financial Innovations and Regulatory Challenges: Frameworks, Tools and Data’ and ”Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Finance: Progression or Disruption?’. Keynote speakers included: Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (The UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate in Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA)), Greg Medcraft (Director of OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs), Professor Njuguna Ndung’u (The immediate former Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya), Miriam Koreen (Deputy Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities OECD) and Ann Cairns, the Vice Chairman of Mastercard.

Highlights

Welcome

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance third annual conference, Reimagining Alternative Finance: Global Perspectives and Local Insights, was opened by Bryan Zhang, Executive Director and Co-founder, CCAF, who emphasized the needs to reflect and reimagine financial innovation and regulatory innovation.

The opening address “Operationalising Financial Innovation” was given by Robert Wardrop, Director and Co-Founder, CCAF, who discussed the role of regulation in financial innovation and diverse regional patterns of innovation, and asked, “does the system kill innovation, or does it change following such innovation?”

1st panel discussion

Researching Alternative Finance: Global Perspectives and Local Insights

The first-panel discussion “Researching Alternative Finance: Global Perspectives and Local Insights”, led by Raghavendra Rau, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance & Director of Research, CCAF, analysed the new forms of innovation – whether they pose a threat to existing institutions, and whether regulators should worry about financial innovation. Ross Levine, Willis H. Booth Chair in Banking and Finance, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley; Naoyuki Yoshino, Dean of the Asia Development Bank Institute and Rotem Shneor, Professor of Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Agder joined the panel.

2nd panel discussion

Inclusive Financial Innovation in Developing Countries & Emerging Markets

The second-panel discussion focused on “Inclusive Financial Innovation in Developing Countries & Emerging Markets”. Chaired by by Robert Wardrop, panelists included Juan Ketterer, Director, Connectivity Markets and Finance, the Inter-American Development Bank; Matthew Saal, Head of Digital Finance, International Finance Corporation (IFC); Lotte Schou-Zibell, Financial Sector Group, Asian Development Bank; Kabir Kumar, Director of Policy and Ecosystem Building, Omidyar Network and Paul Musoke, Director for Competitive Strategies, FSD Africa.

3rd panel discussion

Financial Innovations and Regulatory Challenges: Frameworks, Tools and Data

The third, and penultimate panel session “Financial Innovations and Regulatory Challenges: Frameworks, Tools and Data”, was moderated by Jon Frost, FinTech Lead, Financial Stability Board, saw the panellists discuss both FinTech regulations and regulatory innovation in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Europe. Panelists include Nick Cook, Head of RegTech and Advanced Analytics, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Dirk Schrade, Deputy Head of the Payments and Settlement Systems, Deutsche Bundesbank; Patrick Armstrong, Senior Advisor, the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) and Mirtel ter Braak, Senior Policy Advisor, Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).

4th panel discussion

The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Finance

The final panel, chaired by Jesse McWaters, Financial Innovation Lead, the World Economic Forum, discussed the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in Finance. Panelists included Michael Janiszewski, Managing Director, Global Head of Investment Services, Invesco; Lesly Goh, Chief Technology Officer and Director, Enterprise Architecture & Technology, the World Bank; Keith Bear, Global Leader for Financial Markets, IBM; Claire Calmejane, Transformation Director, Lloyds Banking Group and Robert Reoch, Global Head of Digital Lending Innovation at HSBC.

Keynotes

Greg Medcraft, Director of OECD for Financial and Enterprise Affairs delivered the first keynote address, highlighting the global forces shaping finance with an emphasis on the OECD and the Development of Blockchain.

Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate in Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), addressed the conference via a live video link. She discussed the importance of financial inclusion and how we should seize FinTech’s potential to provide vital access to finance for millions of unbanked and underbanked populations.

Mark Napier, Director, FSD Africa, introduced third keynote Professor Ndung’u, the immediate former Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, who explored how Kenya regulated M-Pesa, the mobile phone accessible bank with “Regulation and Innovation: The Experience of Regulating Kenya’s M-Pesa”.

The fourth keynote speaker, Miriam Koreen, Deputy Director and Head of SME & Entrepreneurship Division, OECD discussed the role of alternative instruments for the financing of SME with a presentation entitled “SME Financing, Entrepreneurship and Alternative Finance”.

Photo gallery

Top