SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) – Ife Badejo, Founder and CEO of Islandpreneur International, is one of the speakers at Fintech Islands, the largest conference focused on financial technology (fintech) in the Caribbean region.
Fintech Islands, which takes place at the Wyndham Grand Barbados from January 22-24, 2025, is focused on three key pillars: policy, entrepreneurship, and talent. The vision is twofold: to bring together a community of leaders that are redefining financial services and to serve as a catalyst for a more inclusive financial system in the Caribbean and around the world.
Some of the key tracks at FinTech Islands are: Intelligent Money, which explores fintech at intersection between artificial intelligence and humanity; Digital Transformation, which focuses of inclusive innovation in financial services; Modernizing Payments, with deep dives discussing instant, interoperable, and borderless payments.
Ife Badejo is scheduled to be one of the judges of the fintech startup competition, alongside other esteemed judges such as: Nneka Etoniru - EVP Global Brand Strategy, Avenue Z; Chris Cochran, the Executive Director of Entrepreneurs Across Borders; Simon Johnson, Investment Officer at IDB Lab of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Uriridiakoghene (Ulili) Onovakpuri - Managing Partner, Kapor Capita; and last but certainly not least Rohan Marley, Athlete & Entrepreneur and Founder & CEO, Marley Coffee & Lion Order.
Nine companies within the fintech space will pitch their ideas to win the grand prize of $10 000, 1st runner up prize of $5000, or a 2nd runner up prize of $2500 and be showcased at the largest fintech conference in the region with hundreds of leaders from around the world present.
Ife is also going to moderate a fireside chat on Artificial Intelligence for Genuine Good: Can AI Be the Great Equalizer in Emerging Markets? with expert Andrew Eklund, founder and CEO of Ciceron, an innovation agency with a marketing performance output. Ife is the only person from St. Maarten to speak at FinTech Islands 2025.
Ife has been an advocate for fintech solutions for the small businesses on the island since 2017. Most recently in her role as Vice President of the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI), she helped to design and facilitate a roundtable discussion: Unlock Global Payments hosted by COCI. This discussion brought together different key stakeholders to address some of the challenges and help to build strategic relationships to facilitate more fintech solutions on St. Maarten, especially for micro, small, medium enterprises (SME’s).
Through, Islandpreneur, Ife works with local and international stakeholders to help island-based businesses to innovate, scale, and thrive by equipping them with actionable insights, global network of experts, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. Recently, Islandpreneur launched its membership program called The Inner Circle to provide even more resources to its dedicated community of serious and ambitious ‘islandpreneurs’.
Ife Badejo and Islandpreneur are grateful to all key partners over the years that have supported the variety of initiatives. This expansion into regional and global opportunities is a testament to their support and belief in our entrepreneurs. A new partner that has helped to make this opportunity possible is Florida based communications company, VoiceLogix.
For more information about projects or membership, email hello@islandpreneur.co or whatsapp +1-721-520-0033.
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