{"id":2797,"date":"2024-05-29T21:53:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T21:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/?p=2797"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:06:58","slug":"foni-2024-a-resounding-success-in-boosting-african-sme-smi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/news\/foni-2024-a-resounding-success-in-boosting-african-sme-smi\/","title":{"rendered":"FONI 2024: A RESOUNDING SUCCESS IN BOOSTING AFRICAN SME \/ SMI !"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2797\" class=\"elementor elementor-2797\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-49d47a2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"49d47a2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ac5437a\" data-id=\"ac5437a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2fcaad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d2fcaad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 20-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\"><div class=\"x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a\"><div dir=\"auto\"><div dir=\"auto\"><p>The third edition of the International Forum on Intermediation, Digital Technology, and Innovation (FONI) 2024 took place on May 16\u201317, 2024, at the H\u00f4tel 2 F\u00e9vrier in Lom\u00e9.<\/p><p>This edition, focused on financial inclusion and sustainable development in Africa, brought together more than 1,000 participants, 30 renowned speakers, and 20 partners from across West Africa, making the event a resounding success.<\/p><p>Inspiring opening remarks<\/p><p>La c\u00e9r\u00e9monie d\u2019ouverture a \u00e9t\u00e9 marqu\u00e9e par deux discours d\u2019une grande qualit\u00e9, qui ont donn\u00e9 le ton \u00e0 une \u00e9dition riche en r\u00e9flexions et en perspectives. Mr,\u00a0<strong>Blaise AHOUANTCHEDE, Le Pr\u00e9sident et CEO d\u2019Afrik Cr\u00e9ances<\/strong>\u00a0a retrac\u00e9 l\u2019histoire du FONI et mis en lumi\u00e8re la vision ambitieuse qui guide cet \u00e9v\u00e9nement majeur, tandis que<strong>\u00a0Madame Mazamesso ASSIH, Ministre de l\u2019Inclusion Financi\u00e8re et de l\u2019Organisation du Secteur Informel de la Pr\u00e9sidence togolaise<\/strong>, a soulign\u00e9 le r\u00f4le crucial de l\u2019inclusion financi\u00e8re dans le d\u00e9veloppement durable du continent africain.<\/p><p>Prestigious awards to celebrate excellence<\/p><p>This year\u2019s FONI event provided an opportunity to present several prestigious awards recognizing innovation, leadership, and the positive impact of various stakeholders. These awards have helped reinforce FONI\u2019s commitment to a better future for the African continent.<\/p><ul><li>Special Award for Financial Inclusion Leader, presented by Afrik Cr\u00e9ances to the Togolese Republic.<\/li><li>Award for the institution that has undertaken far-reaching reforms to revitalize the regional financial market, presented by Afrik Cr\u00e9ances to the Financial Markets Authority of the West African Monetary Union (AMF-UMOA).<\/li><li>Award for the development bank that has mobilized significant resources to finance SMEs and SMIs, presented by Afrik Cr\u00e9ances to the West African Development Bank.<\/li><li>Award for the oldest commercial bank with an extensive local network serving SMEs and SMIs, presented by Afrik Cr\u00e9ances to the Togolese Union of Banks (UTB).<\/li><li>Award for Women\u2019s Entrepreneurship, presented by Afrik Cr\u00e9ances to the founder of Restaurant K\u2019RAMEL.<\/li><\/ul><p>A captivating opening lecture to kick off the discussions<\/p><p>The opening session was captivating, led by the Honorable Marcellin ZINSOU, a leading figure in the private sector, and Grant THORNTON, a recognized expert in supporting SMEs. His presentation sparked keen interest and lively discussion among the participants, all of whom were determined to find concrete solutions to improve conditions for SMEs and small-to-medium-sized industries in Africa.<\/p><p>An innovative digital caf\u00e9 to explore technological solutions<\/p><p>Hosted by Dr. Eric Adja, the FONI 2024 digital caf\u00e9 gave participants the opportunity to learn about innovative technological solutions designed to improve the operating conditions of African SMEs. Among the innovations presented:<\/p><ul><li>Cobiscore, a revolutionary scoring platform developed by Mr. Narcisse Zolla, President and CEO of Holding Bourjon Investment, enabling companies to assess their performance and make informed decisions to optimize their results.<\/li><li>A revolutionary payment technology presented by Mr. Acharaf ZAKI, Global Presales Lead at Hightech Payment Systems, which significantly simplifies administrative procedures for African SMEs and enables them to make and receive payments seamlessly and securely.<\/li><\/ul><p>Insightful panels addressing critical issues<\/p><p>FONI 2024 featured a series of panels led by internationally renowned experts, addressing critical issues for the development of African SMEs:<\/p><ul><li>The Role, Functioning, and Impact of Financing Instruments on SMEs<\/li><li>Digital Innovation for SMEs<\/li><li>Wealth Management in the Digital Age<\/li><li>The Role of Financial Services Regulation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence<\/li><\/ul><p>These panels allowed participants to:<\/p><ul><li>Understanding the challenges faced by African SMEs<\/li><li>Discovering practical solutions to improve their circumstances<\/li><li>Sharing their experiences<\/li><\/ul><p>FONI 2024 was a resounding success, bringing together key players from the private and public sectors to discuss the future of African SMEs. The fruitful discussions and concrete solutions that emerged from this event will undoubtedly help stimulate the growth and development of SMEs across the continent. FONI 2024 concluded with a cocktail reception that provided an opportunity for participants to network.<\/p><p>In conclusion, FONI 2024 proved to be an essential platform for the development of African SMEs. This event raised awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing these businesses and provided valuable tools and resources to help them thrive.<\/p><p>See photos from FONI 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/199844275@N02\/\">here<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The third edition of the International Forum on Intermediation, Digital Technology, and Innovation (FONI) 2024 took place on May 16\u201317, 2024, at the H\u00f4tel 2 F\u00e9vrier in Lom\u00e9. This edition, focused on financial inclusion and sustainable development in Africa, brought together more than 1,000 participants, 30 renowned speakers, and 20 partners from across West Africa, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2797"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2808,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions\/2808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afrikcreances.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}