AgUnity is an Australian-based startup founded in 2016 with the ambition to help change the lives of the 1-billion plus smallholder farmers in the world. Tackling issues of a lack of trust, corruption & graft, poor record-keeping, and farming inefficiencies, AgUnity has developed a smartphone and blockchain-based solution for the world’s poorest farmers, a simple mobile app restoring trust and enabling cooperation.
In the two completed pilot projects to date, wheat farmers in Nanyuki, Kenya, and cacao farmers in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, increased their incomes by an average of 3x, from one season to the next. This substantial rise in income is achieved simply by getting farmers to cooperate to share equipment, plan farming activities, and buy and sell together as part of a farming co-operative.
Dr Mike Johnston is the Chief Technical Officer at Mobilis a market leading Mobile payments company. I am also the CTO for VeriFone Mobile Money a joint venture company with VeriFone Systems Inc. and Mobilis and the Chief Technical Officer for Youtap! He has over 20 years experience in developing and launching products for the telecommunications and financial sectors.
He has in-depth experience in the development and implementation of real-time based transaction processing solutions including Billing & Operational Support Solutions, Point of Sale and Mobile Payments, Value Added Services, Switching, IMS and NGN solutions.
Kaiser Naseem is a global thought leader in international development finance, a disruptor and an innovator with an entrepreneurial flair. During his career of over 40 years, he has conceptualized and developed new institutions and business models in challenging environments and has worked in all aspects of development banking with several institutions, including the World Bank Group. His core competencies are (i) Corporate Governance, (ii) Strategy Formulation and Oversight, (iii) Digital Transformation, (iv) MSME Banking, and (v) Aligning Business Goals with SDGs. Kaiser is a strategic thinker with strong ethical standards and focuses on results. With exceptional business acumen and broad experience on a global stage he serves on the BODs of several international companies and financial institutions and provides strategic advice to senior management and business owners.
Prashant Gokarn is the co-founder and CEO of DigiAsia Bios – whose mission is to bring the entire gamut of financial services, payments, remittance, lending and investments, to the masses in South East Asia, irrespective of their socioeconomic status. DigiAsia’s strategy is to acquire and operationally and financially consolidate digital, traditional distribution and logistics assets; with the aim to redefine the ecosystem even in the smallest towns in Indonesia. Prashant is also the co-founder of Karatvan – an online fine jewelry store with end-to-end ownership and control over the entire supply chain. Prashant is an active investor – with investments in core tech (smartphone beacons, IoT, advertising platform, robotics), trading (quant. gold trading) and consumer (fashion, wedding management, apparel) sectors.
A seasoned senior management professional with over 25 years of global financial services experience in numerous areas of corporate and entrepreneurial management. Proven ability to tackle new challenges, assess situations, think strategically, implement tactically, and execute consistently. A highly effective leader and relationship manager capable of interacting successfully across all levels of an organization. Strong ability to identify high ROI efficiency improvement opportunities and test appropriateness of risk controls.
Panel Discussion: AI, ML, Blockchain in Finance
Date: 26th April, Friday at 11:50 AM
Chris is the founder of Australia’s largest Organic mushroom farming company, founding and consulting roles in several successful start-ups, supply chain planning and management, fresh produce and grocery procurement, crypto economics and distributed ledger technology, primary production and supply chain automation design. Chris has also been involved in the Australian crypto community since 2012 and has a keen interest in blockchain and distributed ledger technology and it’s an application for use as money and other database functions, particularly in the context of food and farming. Director and Treasurer of Organic Industries Australia, Chris has been the winner of several awards such as the 2018 Australian Organic Farmer of the Year, 2018 AusVeg/PMA Young Grower of the Year as well as the 2018 ABC Rural/Kondinin Group Young Farmer of the Year and recipient of Award for Excellence In Technology
Joe Flaten is the COO and a founding member of tech sales-as-service consultancy Konsyg. He has spearheaded and launched over 30 international sales and business development campaigns globally. With 20 years of sales experience in APAC and the USA, Joe brings real-world knowledge and practical know-how to the buzzword-laden and ethereal world of tech sales. Through consulting, defining strategies and sales processes for Fintech companies around the world, Joe has gained invaluable insight and perspective on granular line-by-line data points right through to macro world-wide trends for his clients.
Michele is the Chief Product Officer of CredoLab, the largest developer of bank-grade digital credit risk scorecards based on mobile device data. An enthusiastic strategic thinker and business developer, Michele has 19 years of demonstrable track record of building and marketing online, mobile and offline payments products, consumer lending, cards, and FinTech solutions. Before joining CredoLab, he worked with Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, Capital One Bank, MasterCard, Telecom Italia Mobile and conducted business in 43 countries across the US, Asia, Australia, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Karena Belin is Founder and CEO of HK’s biggest startup platform and community builder WHub
(whub.io) and Founder and COO/CFO of AngelHub (angelhub.io), Hong Kong’s first (approval in
principle) SFC licensed startup investment platform for professional investors and global startups raising growth capital.
Since 2013, she has been passionate about entrepreneurship and a leader in the startup scene. She acts currently as speaker, mentor, and judge at events and organizations such as the APK (Asia Pacific Conference of the German Industry), Chicago Booth GNVC, Google EYE, RISE Conference and Web Summit, Jeju Peace and Prosperity Conference, FinTech Valley Vizag India, Techsauce Thailande, Tech Open Air Berlin, IFLR, Nexchange, Techstar’s StartupWeekendHK, global YPO YNG+ and more. She is a member of the Global FinTech Core Group at the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Vice President and Ex-Com member of The Indus Entrepreneurs Network (TiE) HK, member of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK), President of the board of the parent organization (PFO) at Hong Kong International School, as well as driving diversity and inclusion as board member of WOW at the American Women’s Association.
Alexandre Kech has 20+ years of experience in the capital market industry. From global custody and asset servicing at the Bank of New York Mellon to data standardization and Head of Securities & FX APAC at SWIFT, Alex has developed a strong post-trade industry leadership experience, extended in recent years to digital assets and blockchain.
