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17 September 2025 | Four Seasons Cairo At The First Residence, Cairo, Egypt

Egypt Decision-Makers Roundtable

AI, Data, and Experience: Building Egypt’s Next Banking Wave

Overview

Egypt’s financial sector is in the middle of a step-change: record financial-inclusion levels, an IPN that has mainstreamed real-time payments, rapid wallet and card adoption, and a tightening focus on e-KYC and data governance. At the same time, macro headwinds and shifting customer expectations are forcing banks to rethink value, speed, and trust.

The Egypt Decision-Makers Roundtable convenes C-suite leaders from banks, regulators, payments players, and scaleups for a closed-door, outcomes-oriented conversation on how to turn these tailwinds into durable growth. With Backbase as our exclusive partner, we’ll explore how an Engagement Banking operating model—built on a single, customer-centric platform—can accelerate digital sales, deepen relationships across retail, SME, and corporate, and deliver lifestyle-grade experiences that customers now expect.

Why now

  • Inclusion becomes engagement: With 74.8% of adults now financially included, the challenge shifts from access to activation, personalization, and lifetime value.

  • Instant, always-on money: InstaPay/IPN has reset the bar on convenience—and fees introduced in 2025 will sharpen the need for compelling, value-added journeys.

  • Data, risk & speed: Egypt’s move toward centralized e-KYC and stricter AML expectations makes clean data and straight-through digital onboarding non-negotiable.

  • Lifestyle banking expectations: Meeza, cards-in-wallet, and super-app behaviors are normalizing “banking-inside-life,” not the other way around.

What we’ll tackle

  1. Gen AI with guardrails: Practical patterns for AI copilots in onboarding, service, collections, and SME lending—anchored in explainability, privacy, and local regulation.

  2. Data as a product: Building the real-time data foundation—events, identity, consent—to power proactive offers and next-best actions across channels.

  3. Lifestyle banking playbook: From payments to daily life—how to bundle utilities, mobility, commerce, and remittances into sticky propositions that justify IPN fee economics.

  4. Open finance readiness: What “progressive interoperability” could look like in Egypt and how to de-risk partner ecosystems ahead of fuller frameworks.

  5. SME & corporate moments: Digitizing trade, cash, and collections; using data to unlock working-capital and FX journeys that matter in Egypt’s real economy.

  6. Trust by design: Friction-right onboarding, stronger authentication, and anomaly detection that meet regulator expectations without sacrificing growth.

Event Format

Each session will include:

Case Studies

In-depth analysis of successful use cases from other markets.

Roundtable Discussions

Interactive discussions among participants to share perspectives and identify solutions.

Expert Presentations

Insights on industry trends and best practices.

We'll aggregate participant insights through a survey to inform the roundtable proceedings and distribute key points and minutes to attendees and a wider audience under Chatham House Rules.

Participants

Cyrus Daruwala

Chairman and Board Advisor

ASEAN FinTech Forum, Singapore

Mohamed Hossam Attya
Deputy CIO
Banque Misr, Egypt
Tamer Maher

Deputy General Manager

Banque Misr, Egypt

Sameh Montasser

Group Head of Digital Transformation & Restructuring

MIDBANK, Egypt

Ahmed Samir Kamel

Deputy CEO

onebank, Egypt

Tamer Abdelmjeed Abdelrheem

Financial Technology Head

The United Bank, Egypt

Issam M. Zahran

Head of Business Banking Sector

Faisal Islamic Bank, Egypt

Marwa Salah Hamdoun

Head of Digital Banking & Innovation

Banque Du Caire, Egypt

Aymen Daoud

Regional Vice President - Africa

Backbase, UAE

Erica Cuna

Field Marketing Manager - Africa

Backbase, South Africa

Fahim uz Zaman

Managing Director

3A Ventures International, UAE

Maged Ghaly

Head of Banking Operations

Banque Misr, Egypt

Rafik ElRaheb

Chief Information Officer

ADIB, Egypt

Mahmoud ElShaarawy

Director, Head of Enterprise Architecture

EBank, Egypt

Bassem Abadir

Head of Data Analytics & Business Planning

QNB, Egypt

Mohamed Maged Tammam

Chief Information Officer

Credit Agricole Bank, Egypt

Ahmed Rashad ElToukhy

Head Of Development Banking Solutions

ABE Bank, Egypt

Abdulkhalik Alatrash

Director of Information Technology

Nuran Bank, Libya

Mahmoud Mohamed AbdElAziz Okasha

Solutions Architect

Arab African International Bank, Egypt

Mohamed Anwar Mousa

Regional Business Development Manager

Backbase, Netherlands

Adnane Senhaji

Regional Sales Director - Africa

Backbase, Morocco

Doaa Sayed

Partnership & Alliances Manager

WAVZ, Egypt

Salma Essam Hegazy

Senior Marketing

WAVZ, Egypt

Partners

Backbase

Event Highlights

Thank YOU and the wonderful TLR team for the very well-organized event. It was truly insightful, and I enjoyed taking part in this and being around the table with such prominent industry thought leaders. I look forward to the next event.
Zein Malhas
Blink by Capital Bank, Jordan

Testimonials

I would like to thank you and the team for organizing this excellent event. I loved participating as well as sharing and hearing insights from industry leaders.
Nitin Bhandari
SVP & Head of Payit Digital Wallet, First Abu Dhabi Bank, UAE
I extend sincere appreciation to the TLR team for their professionalism, coordination and logistical support. The event's success was further elevated by the skilled moderation. I'm grateful for the recognition and look forward to continued collaboration.
Fredy Aga
CFO, Trust Bank, Singapore
I’d like to echo the heartfelt thank you to our friends, paritcipants and partners, the UAE Decision Makers Roundtable was indeed and event worth attending. Insightful discussion, collaborative spirit, active paritcipants and interactive session made it a great success.
Gyorgy Ladics
Regional MD MENASA, Silverlake, UAE
I commend TLR for hosting a productive forum on digital banking. The exchange of expertise between global leaders, particularly from Poland, UAE, Singapore, Jordan, India and Oman, was enlightening. I appreciate the opportunity to contribute and look forward to future collaborations.
Aleksandra Krajewska
Banking Strategy & Digitization Expert, UAE
Insightful event, well organized and good networking. ​
Thank you Fahim uz Zaman and The Leaders Roundtables (TLR) team.

M. Ibrahim Iqbal
SVP, Head of Digital Platforms, Dubai Islamic Bank, UAE

Why attend?

Expert insights

Gain valuable perspectives from industry thought leaders and peers on the latest trends and innovations in core banking and payments.

Networking opportunities

Connect with senior bankers, fintech innovators and industry experts, fostering collaborations and partnerships.

Regional focus

Dive into the unique challenges and opportunities facing GCC's financial sector, tailored to the local context.

Leave with actionable strategies and best practices to modernize core banking systems, enhance payments infrastructures and drive digital transformation.

Practical takeaways
Exclusive format
Staying ahead

Engage in intimate and interactive roundtable discussions, ensuring meaningful interactions and knowledge-sharing.

Stay up-to-date on regulatory requirements, security threats and emerging technologies to maintain a competitive edge.

Agenda

09:00

Welcome and Introduction

09:10

Transforming Core: The Convergence of Emerging Tech and Open Banking

 Presentation by Partner / Expert / Bank Client

Panel Discussion: Transforming Core: The Convergence of Emerging Tech and Open Banking
  • How will emerging technologies (e.g., cloud, AI, blockchain) shape core banking systems?

  • How will modern core banking systems support open banking and APIs?

  • What role does technology play in enhancing core banking system efficiency and security?

    Panel discusion: Nicolle Zagrebbing  & Robert Clarisson

10:30

Wrap-up

Partner / Expert

10:45

Coffee break & networking

11:00

The Future of Finance: Convergence, Embedded Solutions, and Inclusion

11:20

Panel Discussion: The Future of Finance: Convergence, Embedded Solutions, and Inclusion

12:30

Discussion

Partner / Expert

12:00

Wrap-up

09:30

Partner / Expert / Bank Client

Lunch break & networking

13:00

End of event
  • How is convergence of payments and lending giving rise to a new era of seamless financial transactions?

  • How can institutions achieve financial fluidity through embedded finance solutions?

  • What are the opportunities for growth in the embedded finance sector?

  • How can embedded finance be used to enhance financial literacy and inclusion?

    Panel discusion: Nicolle Zagrebbing  & Robert Clarisson

Connect with our team for further information