It has been a very busy three months since joining GFTN as CEO Solutions and the energy and drive are both empowering and propelling.
The financial system is undergoing a fundamental change; a rewiring if you like, where new technologies are moving at an unprecedented speed. With that comes a critical need for all participants in the financial system to respond and the response needs a collective approach.
GFTN brings people together with our forums such as the Inclusive FinTech Forum in Africa last month, or the Point Zero Forum coming up in Zurich in June. Through these forums, insightful thoughts and intelligent discussions have circulated, but what we see and hear now is the need for a cohesive approach to implementation. The dialogue helps shape the policy, unlock the possible opportunities, and surface the potential risks. Going to implementation is what delivers much needed impact.
GFTN Solutions takes a deeper look into how these insights can be put to action. Sitting at the intersection of policy ambition and execution reality, our approach is to become an orchestrator for effective delivery of policy change and ecosystem development. We recognise that this cannot be achieved by isolated initiatives, but by stitching together regulatory clarity and policy roadmaps, technological capability through our platforms like Q-Finex and ALFIN, and capacity building that ensures knowledge is built and transferred.
One obvious place where the need for taking insights to action is in the context of Africa’s financial evolution, as we will see on the 3i Africa Summit agenda in May. The continent stands at a unique inflection point—where the absence of legacy infrastructure has moved away from being a constraint, to an opportunity. The focus on inclusion, innovation, and investment is foundational. Yet, there remains a challenge in aligning public and private actors, and ensuring that innovation translates into tangible outcomes for individuals and businesses.
Africa is not alone. This reality exists in many parts of the world in different ways and to varying degrees. GFTN Solutions is attempting to build the bridges that will help address this reality. Bridges between jurisdictions, between regulators and innovators, between entrepreneurs and investors and between ambition and implementation.
The tone across these efforts is deliberate and measured as we understand that transformation is not achieved through disruption alone, but through careful design and sustained collaboration. No one party can do this alone. In a landscape often characterised by hype cycles and fragmented progress, this approach feels both pragmatic and necessary. As technology and world dynamics continue to shift, I believe we can make every interaction deliberate and focused on outcomes where together, we move society forward.
Sincerely,
Maha El Dimachki Chief Executive Officer, GFTN Solutions
In the news
Insights that shape the industry and beyond
A BIS report on cryptoasset service providers as financial intermediaries
Cryptoasset service providers have expanded beyond their initial roles as trading platforms and custodial service providers. The largest firms now offer a broad range of products, some resembling financial intermediation activities traditionally performed by banks and prime brokers. This report by the BIS discusses their role as financial intermediaries. Read it here.
Ripple, K bank form strategic partnership on blockchain remittances
Global blockchain firm Ripple and South Korea's internet-only lender K bank have signed a strategic partnership to test blockchain-based technology for overseas remittances. Read it here.
European Central Bank inks agreements to support digital euro payments
New agreements have been made with Nexo Standards, the Berlin Group and the European Cards Payment Cooperation (ECPC) to base digital euro online payments on existing open technical standards.
The Global SME Finance Forum returns this September for its 12th edition, this time in Washington D.C, hosted by the SME Finance Forum, managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Here's a report on what was discussed at the 2025 Forum in Johannesburg. Read the report.
The Japan Pivot Podcast: Writing the Rules for FinTech in Japan
In this podcast, learn how rules evolve alongside markets and how regulators balance innovation with financial stability in Japan. Watch the podcast.
Chart your course
Upskill to stay ahead of the curve
Digital Money, Stablecoins, and the Future of Financial Infrastructure
GFTN is launching an online course on stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs, powered by Ripple, to give professionals a structured way to get ahead of the shift. What this course entails:
Foundations: the evolution of money, and an introduction to digital money. Infrastructure and Payments: blockchain and smart contracts, custody models, interoperability, and how stablecoins are transforming cross-border settlement. Governance, Risk, and Policy: risk, compliance and oversight, global standards and jurisdictional case studies.
Designed for policymakers, regulators, financial professionals, technologists, and compliance teams, the course is delivered online and self-paced, so you can fit it around your schedule.
Enrolment opens on 1 July 2026. Register your interest now to be notified the moment the programme goes live.
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