This is an in-person and online event. The stream is available at this meeting link. No registration required.
Date: Thursday, 18th May 2023
Start time: 13:00 PM SAST
Duration: 1 hour
Practitioner: Fabio De Masi
Location: Economics Lecture Theatre, Middle campus, University of Cape Town
Fabio De Masi is a former member of the European (2014–17) and the German Parliament (2017–21).He was vice chair of Die Linke’s parliamentary group and its spokesperson on financial affairs. De Masi played a key role in investigating the scandal around the German payment processing firm Wirecard as well as various scandals related to corporate tax and money laundering.
De Masi obtained degrees in economics (BA Hons) from Hamburg University of Economics and Politics, inInternational Relations (MSocSc) from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and in International Economics (MA) from the Berlin School of Economics and Law. He is currently an honorary fellow for digital financial markets and financial crime with the German NGO Finanzwende, which strives for better regulated financial markets, and he is a regular contributor to major German newspapers.
De Masi is also a research fellow with the Financial Innovation Hub of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and is a regular speaker at industry events on FinTech, crypto assets, and central bank digital currency (CBDC).
This seminar is part of a series which has been created to expose our students to exceptional individuals in the African Fintech space working on innovative solutions to address the large unbanked population on our continent. Fintech in Africa has received the largest share of funding in recent years, and this trend is expected to increase. As the only dedicated Fintech Master's program on the African continent, one of our goals is to connect our students with leading fintech companies across the continent. In the past, we have had speakers from Nala, Stitch Money, Visa, Spoon Money, Consensys, Authentium, Investec and more. Because seminars have attracted interest from students across campus, we have decided to open up attendance to all students interested in fintech and related topics.