Home Policy & Governance Global Government Fintech Lab: latest speakers confirm for event in Dublin

Global Government Fintech Lab: latest speakers confirm for event in Dublin

Dublin-bound: (clockwise from top left) Mari-Liis Kukk, Ravi Bhalla, Dina Buse and Aiaze Mitha are the latest speakers to confirm for the Global Government Fintech Lab 2023 | Dublin pics credit: kh92 & Claire Tardy (both Pixabay)

Senior public servants from countries including Estonia, the UK and Latvia are among the latest speakers to sign up for the Global Government Fintech Lab 2023. 

As governments’ interest in fintech accelerates, public authorities are increasingly looking to explore, encourage and invest in fintech solutions.

The Lab, which will be held in Ireland’s capital Dublin on Thursday 18 May, brings together those charged with exploring the opportunities and challenges presented by fintech, as well as implementing fintech solutions within public authorities.

Global Government Fintech can today announce the latest speakers to join the government fintech pioneers already confirmed in taking to the stage in Dublin. They are: Mari-Liis Kukk from Estonia, Ravi Bhalla from the UK, Dina Buse from Latvia and Aiaze Mitha from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Sustainable Finance Hub.

The Lab is being organised in tandem with Ireland’s Department of Finance and is partnered by Microsoft.

REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND (FREE FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS)

International line-up in Dublin

Kukk is head of the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority (Finantsinspektsioon)’s innovation department. She was also a speaker at the first Global Government Fintech Lab, which was held in June 2022 in Tallinn (she is pictured, second from right, at this event alongside Ireland’s Karen Cullen and Germany’s Doris Dietze – both are also confirmed to speak in Dublin).

Bhalla is head of the innovation department at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In this capacity he is also chair of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) – an international network of more than 80 organisations.

Buse is deputy director of the financial market policy department and head of the credit institution and payment services policy division in Latvia’s Ministry of Finance. She recently spoke at a Global Government Fintech webinar on blockchain bonds (on 23 March 2023).

Mitha leads the UNDP / UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)’s joint programme on digital finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Senior public servants from further nations including Azerbaijan are among the speakers already announced for the event.

GLOBAL GOVERNMENT FINTECH LAB 2023 AGENDA

Financial services minister’s keynote

Ireland’s minister of state with responsibility for financial services, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, is confirmed to deliver a keynote address to get the Lab underway.

The Lab, which is free to attend for all public servants, will then feature panels and breakout sessions, as well as plenty of opportunities for networking, reflecting Global Government Fintech’s spirit of international knowledge-sharing.

Topics to be covered include: how governments are structuring around fintech; data; payments (to/from government); blockchain; central bank digital currencies; SupTech (supervisory technology); and how ‘green fintech’ can help achieve climate targets.

Ireland’s government has a long-standing commitment to developing its financial services sector. ‘Fintech and Digital Finance’ was one of five main themes of the ‘Update to Ireland for Finance’, a whole-of-government strategy published in October 2022 charting the development of international financial services to the end of 2026. A (related) financial services ‘action plan’ has just been published.

The Lab is being held at Dublin Castle’s Printworks venue.

If you would like to discuss the event, please contact Anne Simonsen via email: anne.simonsen@globalgovernmentforum.com or phone +44 20 4558 8961. To discuss commercial opportunities, please contact George O’Grady george.ogrady@pendragonim.com.

FURTHER READING

Irish financial services ‘action plan’ sets out fintech priorities – our article (28 March 2023) on the inclusion of six priorities for fintech and digital finance in the ‘action plan’ for 2023 published by the Department of Finance

Ireland’s financial services minister to speak at Global Government Fintech Lab 2023 – our article (22 March 2023) looking ahead to Jennifer Carroll MacNeill’s keynote speech

Global Government Fintech Lab to hold 2023 ‘Lab’ in Dublin – our article (20 January 2023) announcing Ireland’s capital as the Lab’s location

‘Ireland’s finance department’s fintech lynchpin: an interview with Karen Cullen’ – an interview (16 September 2021) with the Department of Finance’s head of international financial services (and fintech steering group head)