Zenith Bank’s sixth Tech Fair, Future Forward 6.0, put artificial intelligence and digital payments at the centre of a debate about Africa’s financial future on Thursday, November 5, 2026. Held virtually for the first time under the theme “AI: Embrace or Extinct”, the event’s published programme linked agentic AI, payment partnerships, cybersecurity and home-grown innovation.
AI moves from assistance to action
The programme listed a keynote on “Agentic AI in Finance” by Megan Caywood Cooper, founder and chief executive of Caywood, followed by “The Next RenAIssance” from former OpenAI executive Zack Kass. Agentic AI describes systems that can plan and execute linked tasks with limited human direction, rather than only answering individual questions.
For banks, that could mean faster customer support, fraud detection and back-office processing. But systems that act autonomously can make costly mistakes, expose customer information or reproduce biased decisions. The fair’s masterclasses therefore included AI governance, model risk, ethics, accountability and cybersecurity.
Also Read: Africa AI & Agentic Summit 2026: Lagos Becomes Centre of Africa’s AI Conversation
Payments are the other half of the story
The agenda included a session on African payment infrastructure, with PAPSS chief executive Mike Ogbalu III scheduled to discuss how cross-border payment systems can support trade and commerce across Africa. PAPSS says its network allows participating financial institutions to process payments across African borders in local currencies, with near-instant transactions taking as little as 120 seconds after validation.
That matters to traders facing conversion costs and delays. The fair also listed a presentation on next-generation agentic and digital payment partnerships by Google’s Deniz Oran, and a live unveiling of Zenith Bank’s Finopay platform. The programme identifies Finopay as a digital payment innovation platform; its customer reach and practical capabilities should be judged by deployment evidence, not a launch announcement alone.
Back Story: Building an African innovation pipeline
Zenith’s Tech Fair is also a route for developing local technology talent. At the 2025 edition, the bank awarded ₦140 million to ten African innovators selected from more than 2,000 Zecathon participants. In 2026, the programme widened its reach to secondary-school students. Caleb British International School in Lagos won the Future Innovators Challenge with ReLearn, a textbook-sharing platform, taking the ₦5 million first prize.
The result shows innovation depends on young people building solutions around local needs.
Inclusion will test the technology
Digital adoption is growing, but access is not universal. EFInA’s 2026 Access to Financial Services survey found that 64 per cent of Nigerian adults use digital financial services, while 38 per cent use a phone or tablet to manage their finances. The figures point to adoption, alongside a gap that technology providers must consider.
For Zenith and other African financial institutions, the test is whether AI and payment innovation make transactions safer, cheaper and more dependable for users, including small businesses and people underserved by traditional banking. Answers will be measured in products that work, users who trust them and businesses able to participate in the digital economy. Infrastructure and trust matter equally.
Reliable access, protection and affordability will shape the outcome for customers across Africa.
Also Read: Nigeria’s Digital Payments Boom Is Giving Global Fintech a New Benchmark
