About

About the Event

After a series of very successful events in Amsterdam 2022, Zagreb and Vienna 2023, the next regional EWPN SEE event will be held in Sarajevo City Hall on 13th May 2024.

The region of Southeast Europe is particularly specific because of 6 countries, called the Western Balkans (WB6), which are non-EU countries and bring numeros of differences in both – Payment and Financial Systems. With 17.6 million residents and a strategic location in the heart of Europe, investment in Western Balkans development is vital to the European Union’s focus on fostering stability and prosperity. Although multiple stakeholders, including governments, DFIs, and Donors, have been supporting digital and financial initiatives over many years, a unified roadmap for payments has not yet been developed, leading to visible maturity variances between countries and consequently a lack of passporting and standardisation of regulatory framework.

This event brings to the stage the biggest experts in the field from Regulators, Banks, FinTech companies and Payment Systems. It will be a great opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge and to compare different practices in more than 15 markets from which our speakers come. It is particularly interesting to look at business practices, regulations and consumer behavior in EU and non-EU countries.

New technologies, digital assets, virtual worlds, digital marketplaces and the increased awareness of community values like sustainability and inclusion, offer great opportunities to build a more sustainable and inclusive world. A world in which boundaries are fading and silos are broken down because we are changing the way we interact, using our multiple identities and innovating the way we create, store and exchange value.

EVENT THEME: Regulators, Banks and FinTechs push boundaries together

 

About the Venue

Nestled within the heart of Sarajevo, the City Hall – known as Vijećnica, is a symbol of Sarajevo and one of the most beautiful monuments from the Austro-Hungarian period. Constructed in the late 19th century, City Hall has borne witness to the city’s triumphs and tribulations, serving as a symbol of resilience through times of both prosperity and adversity. Despite facing destruction during the conflicts of the 20th century, its renovation symbolizes Sarajevo’s strong dedication to honoring its history and embracing its future.

Today, City Hall stands not only as a seat of governance but also as a vibrant cultural hub, hosting exhibitions, events, and ceremonies that celebrate Sarajevo’s diverse heritage and artistic vitality. Its grand halls echo with the voices of both past and present, nurturing a feeling of togetherness and inclusion for all who visit, whether locals or tourists.

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EWPN SEE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

12 May 2024, HTEC HUB

18:00 – 20:00 EWPN pre-conference gathering (EWPN members only)

13 May, Sarajevo City Hall

08:30 – 09:30 Welcome coffee powered by Franck

09:30 – 09:45 (Opening remarks) – Key topics and motivation

  • Merima Mahmutovic, Executive Board Member, EWPN / Senior manager, PwC
  • Dragana Stanojevic – USAID CATALYZE Western Balkan Engines of Growth (EoG), Regional Team Leader

 

09:45 – 10:00 (Note from Vicegovernor) – Payment System & Innovations

  • Mr. Ernadina Bajrovic, Vice Governor of Central Bank of B&H

 

10:00 – 11:00 (Strategic dialogue) – Do we have time, knowledge, courage to INNOVATE?

  • Instant payments EU vs non-EU markets/what are preconditions of successful implementation?
  • Cross-border payments within SEE region – “to SEPA or not to SEPA”?
  • Electronic money – can we catch up with the developed EU markets?
  • Digitization of the public sector – interoperability of a services as a prerequisite for end-to-end digital financial services and CX improvement
  • In the dawn of the Digital EURO what do we in SEE think about CBDCs?

     

    Speakers:

  • Mr. Ernadina Bajrovic, Vice Governor of Central Bank of B&H
  • Ivana Jakir-Bajo, Vice Governor of Croatian National Bank
  • Prof. Dr. Sanela Pasic, Member of Banking Supervisory Boards, SSST University Porfessor
  • Edin Forto, Minister of Communications and Transport of B&H
  • Hrvoje Cosic, CEO at Aircash
  • Vedran Persic, CEO at Persic Komunikacije, moderator

 

11:00 – 11:45 (Fireside chat) – Women leaders in payments

  • New European regulations – from PSD to PSD3 – what it really means for the industry (Processors, Banks, FinTech’s), what’s in it for the end user of the affected EU market and what the users in SEE region can hope for in the light of the expected changes
  • New technologies – what are the hottest trends in the payments for the season 2024?
  • Women leaders in payment services – motivation and challenges of professional development in the countries of the SEE region.
  • Lessons learned (fuck-ups included) on the road to meaningful innovation – embracing the culture of accepting failure as an inevitable station on the way to success

     

    Speakers:

  • Svetlana Hoffman, CO-Founder Epta-x, UK
  • Filomena Pljakovska Asprovska, CEO at CaSyS, North Macedonia
  • Alma Kratovac, CEO at Payten, B&H, moderator

 

11:45 – 12:15 Coffee Break powered by Franck Coffee

12:15 – 12:35 (Warm up – keynote) – Digital Transformation in Banks

  • Cruising through the landscape of global vs regional technology trends
  • Strategic challenge: How to reach and foster the state of permanent change?
  • Shifting mindset from “Do we need change at all?” to “Let’s see how we can improve.

     

    Speaker:

  • Tanja Imamovic, Strategic Partnerships&Ecosystems Manager at Raiffeisen Bank International AG

 

12:35 – 13:20 (Panel 1) – Innovations goals in Banking/FinTech practice in SEE vs EU markets

  • (How) are goals and goal setting processes different in Banks and FinTech companies?
  • Objective: efficiency of company resources vs improved customer experience
  • What are the regional differences that influence innovation application and adoption?
  • Converting tech innovation into better customer experience – mature technologies vs hot trendy ones – which ones are creating most of the value to the CX?

     

    Speakers:

  • Selma Ridjanovic Kenovic, Director of Marketing, Communication and CX at UniCredit Bank d.d. Mostar
  • Panagiotis Kriaris, Business Development Director at Unzer, Austria
  • Nina Nedanoska, Deputy President of Management Board at Sparkasse Bank AD Skopje
  • Gordana Breyer, Management Board member at Nexi, Croatia
  • Jelena Djurovic, Partnership Manager at Payoneer / EWPN Country Ambassador Serbia, moderator

 

13:20 – 14:10 (Debate club) – Powering the (A)Innovation

  • The debate club is a real treat and brings us a new format of discussion. Our speakers argumentatively defend or cautiously limit the proposed hypotheses.
  • For AI, only the sky is the limit. Maybe, but what to do with the risks and how to migrate them.
  • The evergreen question in any financial company or institution, big or small, private, or public: “Should we develop the AI software in-house or outsource?”. Outsourcing sounds more comfortable, but how to overcome data protection risks and restrictions.
  • And yet when all the question seem answered, new ones are opening up: “Do we have reason to worry about the future of jobs? We all agree that AI software will be able to replace repetitive tasks, but the human factor is still an inexhaustible source of ideas and creativity.

     

    Speakers:

  • Amina Karic, Vice President for Operations at Authority Partners, B&H
  • Gjergji Guri, Founder and CEO of Facilization, Albania
  • Ana Brajkovic Ladjarevic, CTO and Partner at Vestigo Croatia
  • Nermina Agovic-Kaliman, Principal Software Engineer at Finshark
  • Maja Focic, Project Manager at Monri, Croatia
  • Dino Selimbasic, Senior Director of Engineering & Delivery at HTEC
  • Jovana Markovic Vidakovic, Senior Sales Lead – CEE & CIS Public Sector, moderator

 

14:10 – 15:10 Lunch Break

15:10 – 15:30 (Warm up – keynote) – Embedded Finance – democratising Financial Services experience

  • Embedded finance business models as building blocks of new “open economy”
  • WIIFM – what are the expected benefits for different market stakeholders
  • Pioneering embedded lending in SEE – pilot case study

     

    Speaker:

  • Sandra Rodic, Senior Financial Sector Expert at USAID CATALYZE Engines of Growth

 

15:30 – 16:15 (Panel 2) – Leveraging innovation to boost financial inclusivity

  • Tech and business model innovations giving impulse to creation and scaling SMEs
  • Is there such thing as “financial products for women” and what is really behind it?
  • Building a company culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion

     

    Speakers:

  • Enio Jaco, Founder and CEO at CBS Albania
  • Jovan Milovanovic, Co-Founder & CEO Between, Co-Founder SWE Finspot
  • Ana Vicic, Partner at Peterhof Faktoring, Serbia
  • Sanja Babic-Halilovic, Market Manager at Mikrofin, B&H
  • Aleksandar Zaric, International Development Organizations and IFIs Consultant SOG in cooperation with Kinstellar moderator

 

16:15 – 17:00 (Panel 3) – Compliance challenges in the age of permanent innovation/transformation

  • Shifting the paradigm of compliance function – becoming the leader of transformation?
  • Data management – protecting the boundaries and powering the customer experience
  • Balancing between the risks and rewards of incorporating disruptive and often unregulated technologies into company operations
  • Importance of ethics and value – safeguarding the border that no FinTech should cross

     

    Speakers:

  • Tea Curkovic-Fabijanic, Compliance Director at Aircash Croatia
  • Jose M. de Barreda, PhD, Principal Digital Finance & Fintech Advisor at IFC
  • Naida Custovic, Attorney at Law in cooperation with Wolf Theiss
  • Morana Vukic Perak, Head of Legal and AML at Electrocoin Croatia
  • Elmir Ganic, Manager at PwC Tax and Advisory B&H, moderator

 

17:00 – 17:20 (Fireside chat) – Beyond innovation

  • What is the news in the Web3 universe – are we going to see Web3 becoming a mainstream disruptor in our lifetime or will it settle as being only a niche alternative
  • Commoditisation of data, end of capitalism and rise of so called “techno feudalism”
  • Do we need a revolution or what?

     

    Speakers:

  • Magda Milas, Fintech Expert A1 Hrvatska & President at Alice in Blockchains
  • Ana Nives Radovic, Founding Director at FinTech Online Center, Montenegro

 

17:20 – 17:30 (Closing remarks) – Thank you note from organizers and group photo

  • Rukayyat Kolawole, CFA, Founder and CEO of PaceUP Invest GmbH

 

13 May 2024, 4 sobe gospođe Safije

20:00 – 22:00 VIP Networking Coctail (invites only)

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Speakers

Mr. Ernadina BajrovicVice Governor of Central Bank of B&H
Edin Forto Minister of Communications and Transport of B&H
Ivana Jakir-Bajo Vice Governor of Croatian National Bank
Merima Mahmutovic Executive Board Member, EWPN / Senior manager, PwC
Rukayyat Kolawole, CFA Founder and CEO of PaceUP Invest GmbH
Jose M. de Barreda Principal Digital Finance & Fintech Advisor at IFC
Dragana Stanojevic USAID CATALYZE Western Balkan Engines of Growth (EoG), Regional Team Leader

Panagiotis Kriaris Business Development Director at Unzer, Austria

Svetlana Hoffman CO-Founder Epta-x, UK

Sanela Pasic Member of Banking Supervisory Boards, SSST University Porfessor
Hrvoje Cosic CEO at Aircash

Alma Kratovac CEO at Payten, B&H

Nina Nedanoska Deputy President of Management Board at Sparkasse Bank AD Skopje

Filomena Pljakovska Asprovska CEO at CaSys, North Macedonia

Aleksandar Zaric International Development Organizations and IFIs Consultant
SOG

Tanja Imamovic Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystems Manager at Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Sandra Rodic Senior Financial Sector Expert at USAID CATALYZE Engines of Growth

Selma Ridjanovic Kenovic Director of Marketing, Communication and CX at UniCredit Bank d.d. Mostar

Enio Jaco Founder and CEO at CBS Albania

Ana Vicic Partner at Peterhof Faktoring, Serbia

Jovan Milovanovic Co-Founder & CEO Between, Co-Founder SWE Finspot

Tea Curkovic-Fabijanic Compliance Director at Aircash Croatia

Naida Custovic Attorney at Law in cooperation with Wolf Theiss

Ana Nives Radovic Founding Director at FinTech Online Center, Montenegro

Amina Karic Vice President for Operations at Authority Partners, B&H
Magda Milas Fintech Expert A1 Hrvatska & President at Alice in Blockchains

Gjergji Guri Founder and CEO of Facilization, Albania

Jelena Djurovic Partnership Manager at Payoneer / EWPN Country Ambassador Serbia

Gordana Breyer Management Board member at Nexi, Croatia

Dino Selimbasic Senior Director, Engineering & Delivery at HTEC

Nermina Agović-Kaliman Principal Software Engineer at Finshark

Morana Vukic Perak Head of Legal and AML at Electrocoin, Croatia

Elmir Ganic Manager at PwC Tax and Advisory, B&H

Ana Brajkovic Ladjarevic CTO and Partner at Vestigo Croatia

Sanja Babic-Halilovic Market Manager at Mikrofin, B&H

Maja Focic Project Manager at Monri, Croatia

Vedran Persic CEO at Persic Komunikacije

Jovana Markovic Vidakovic Senior Sales Lead – CEE & CIS Public Sector

  

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Sponsors and Partners

STRATEGIC PARTNER

The conference is made possible with the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through USAID CATALYZE Engines of Growth (EoG) Activity. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID. To learn more, visit https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/private-sector-engagement/PSE-at-USAID/PSE-Hub/catalyze/enginesofgrowth

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Partners

Media Partners

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Organizational Team


 

Previous EWPN events

EWPN Vienna, October 2023

 

EWPN Zagreb, June 2023

 

 

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