PufferPay CEO, Emmanuel Ovaga, to keynote Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2026 - ITREALMS

The Chief Executive Officer of PufferPay Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Ovaga, has been tapped to deliver the keynote address at the highly anticipated 3rd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2026, reports ITREALMS.

The high-level industry dialogue is scheduled to hold on Friday, July 31, 2026, at the prestigious Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

This year's roundtable will center on the critical theme: "Fintech: Driving the Future of Digital Financial Ecosystem in Nigeria."

Mr. Ovaga, a graduate of Computer Engineering from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), is an accomplished technology entrepreneur and business leader. He possesses a proven track record of building and scaling innovative digital and enterprise infrastructure across the African continent.

As the helmsman at PufferPay, Ovaga drives the company’s core vision of delivering seamless, secure, and inclusive payment systems engineered specifically for emerging markets.

He concurrently serves as the CEO of Pufferfish Technology Limited, a fast-growing Pan-African IT and consulting firm specializing in bespoke software development, advanced data analytics, and robust systems integration for both public and private sector entities.

Under his strategic guidance, Pufferfish Technology has secured vital alliances with globally recognized technology providers and enterprise computing leaders. Within a few short years of operations, the parent firm successfully birthed PufferPay as a dedicated fintech vehicle to structurally enhance financial inclusion and payment facilitation across Africa utilizing best-in-class transaction speeds and top-tier security matrices.

Welcoming the development, the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Business Journal Media Group, Prince Cookey, stated:


“Mr. Emmanuel Ovaga represents the next generation of tech leaders in the fintech space in Nigeria and Africa. His laudable accomplishments as the CEO of PufferPay Limited deserve accolades. He has positioned PufferPay as a leading player in the digital financial ecosystem in Nigeria with emerging corporate tentacles across the continent. Accordingly, stakeholders attending the roundtable would be looking forward to a robust conversation on the state of the fintech market today and tomorrow.”

The 2026 roundtable boasts a heavyweight lineup of national regulatory chiefs, financial ecosystem operators, and corporate institutional leaders:

Event Chair: Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).


Special Guests of Honour: Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); and Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).


Guest of Honour: Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe, President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB).

The interactive panel sessions will feature a diverse brain trust of economic, insurance, and informal sector experts, including:

Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE).


Mrs. Idu Okeahialam, Group Managing Director/CEO, Royal Exchange Plc.


Mr. Jide Orimolade, Managing Director/CEO, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited.


Dr. Obioha Oti, President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN).


Mr. Sarafadeen Fasasi, President, Association of Financial Inclusion Agents of Nigeria (AFIAN).


Chidubem Emelumadu, Ecosystem Lead (Africa), Lisk.

The revolutionary success of home-grown payment giants such as Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and Flutterwave highlights a massive, structural transformation of Nigeria's financial services architecture. With millions of citizens and micro-businesses historically locked out of formal banking, the role of fintech firms remains foundational to deepening financial integration.

Available market intelligence indicates that Nigerian fintechs have radically upended the financial landscape. These firms have contributed heavily to a 20% surge in financial inclusion, helping push the country's overall banked population to roughly 63% by introducing agile, low-cost digital payments, micro-lending, and retail investment platforms.

This systemic impact is backed by massive capital inflows. Nigerian fintech startups continue to dominate the regional venture capital landscape, commanding 35% of the country's total $2 billion tech funding in 2024 alone. Remarkably, over 430 active companies in Nigeria attract approximately 36% of all fintech investments across the entire African continent. Highlighting this macroeconomic resilience was Moniepoint’s landmark $110 million Series C round.

This rapid ecosystem maturation received a major regulatory nod in January 2026, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted expansive national operating licenses to top-tier fintech players, empowering them with the formal regulatory authority to run nationwide operations across all 36 states.

The 3rd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2026 aims to thoroughly dissect these cross-sector milestones, evaluate emerging regulatory frameworks, and outline steps to safely expand financial access for the next wave of unbanked Nigerians.