Day 3 – Session C1: Capital Today: Gaps in Fintech’s Growth Journey
Daniel Hersson, Senior Investment Specialist, ADB
Daniel Hersson is the co-founder and co-manager of ADB Ventures, the venture arm of the Asian Development Bank, where he oversees investment activities. He has over 20 years of experience in early-stage investment, start-ups, and strategy. Daniel previously helped establish and lead BP Ventures, a global climate and energy-focused corporate VC fund, and was part of the founding team at Infuse Ventures, India’s first early-stage climate tech VC fund. He has also launched two technology start-ups. Daniel holds an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.
Alex Panican, Deputy CEO, Luxembourg House of Financial Technology
Alex Panican is Deputy CEO at the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), where he advances digital finance innovation and partnerships. He brings over 15 years of expertise in business strategy, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship. Prior to LHoFT, Alex worked in strategy and marketing consultancy and co-founded consumer insights platform Malinshopper.com. He is also involved in education, teaching digital marketing and business strategy. As an entrepreneur and connector at heart, Alex drives ecosystem-building initiatives that foster collaboration between fintech startups, regulators, and financial institutions in Luxembourg and beyond.
Jojo Malolos, President and CEO, PayMongo
Elmer “Jojo” Malolos was appointed as the new CEO of Paymongo in February of 2023. He is a highly accomplished CEO with extensive experience in Mobile and Digital Financial Services (DFS) across emerging markets like the Philippines, Latin America, and Africa. He currently leads PayMongo, a Fintech startup facilitating online payment acceptance for SMEs. Previously, he served as CEO of JG Digital Equity Ventures Inc (JGDEV) and Data Analytics Ventures Inc (DAVI) of the Gokongwei Group, and co-founded GoTyme Bank, a licensed digital bank. Jojo's leadership has been instrumental in introducing financial services to both banked and unbanked populations through innovative mobile money ventures such as WING Specialised Bank and Smart Money. He's an active member of the Southeast Asia Senior Advisory Council for Women’s World Banking, advocating for financial access. With a background in companies like PriceWaterhouseCoopers, IBM Corp., and Smart Communications, Jojo is dedicated to fostering successful FINTECH initiatives in ASEAN, bridging technology and finance for the underserved. He also holds expertise in supporting startups, deploying capital, and understanding future-oriented technology platforms.
Arvind Sankaran, Senior Fintech Consultant, ADB
Arvind has a total of 35 years of experience as a C-suite banking leader, tech investor, board member and advisor in the Asia Pacific region. Currently, he runs an independent practice that primarily assists institutional investors, global tech leaders and South-East Asian startups to accelerate value creation and inclusive impact. Arvind was previously a Venture Partner at Jungle Ventures, a leading South-East Asia focused VC. He was also a senior advisor at McKinsey’s Asia FIG practice. His board roles include AFG Partners, an Asia-focused fintech fund; Gosree Finance, an Indian MSME digital lender; and Powercred, a SEA-based data solutions provider.
Arvind advises the Asian Development Bank, having initially joined on secondment by the Singapore Government/Ministry of Finance.
Farah Jaafar, Advisor, Fintech Association of Malaysia
A seasoned financial services professional, Farah has close to 30 years of experience in capital markets, offshore finance, financial eco-system curation, fintech, digital assets, reinsurance, corporate & business advisory, stakeholder management, strategic communications and branding.
She is an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee, of Webull Securities (Malaysia), an online stockbroker regulated by Securities Commission Malaysia. Webull Malaysia is a subsidiary of WeBull Corporation, a technology-driven financial services leader committed to providing equal inclusive access to the world's financial markets.
Farah also serves on the Board of Tyndall Insurance, a full-fledged insurance company licensed by Labuan Financial Services Authority, focussed on insuring trade credit especially for SMEs. Tyndall Insurance is a related entity to Marketlend, Australia’s leading peer to peer marketplace trade credit platform.
She is now the Advisor to the Fintech Association of Malaysia, after serving for almost 3 years as its Vice President and was most recently the Managing Director of Fusang Digital Asset Exchange, Asia's first private and public stock exchange for tokenised securities.
Prior to that, Farah served as CEO of Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, where she grew its network of intermediaries, advisors and eco system partners to become the fastest developing fintech, wealth management and captive insurance centre in Asia.
Farah has also served in roles as an institutional trader (equity and derivatives), Head of Marketing Communications for Bursa Malaysia, General Manager of the Association of Stockbroking Companies Malaysia and as Director of Communications for the Asian Institute of Finance
Farah is passionate about all forms of equality with a strong personal focus on financial inclusion via digitalisation and win-win partnerships. She believes in the soft power of strong networks, and is a DEI advocate.
“A rising tide lifts all boats” is a saying that steers her actions, professional and personally.
Ganesh Rengaswamy, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Quona Capital
Ganesh Rengaswamy, a seasoned entrepreneur and venture investor, leads Quona’s investments in Asia.
Before co-founding Quona, Ganesh led Accion Frontier Investments’ work in India. Prior to his time with Accion, Ganesh was a General Partner of Lok Capital, a venture growth fund that invests in financial inclusion and social enterprises. Ganesh previously served as the Asia Director for Unitus Inc., a global organization investing in sustainable solutions in financial inclusion. During these stints, Ganesh invested and advised leading financial institutions and banks including SKS/Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd, Ujjivan, Equitas, IFMR/NorthernArc, Vistaar, TechProcess and Bandhan.
He previously led the entry of Greylock Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund, into the Indian market and also co-founded Travelguru.com, acquired by Travelocity. Early in his career, Ganesh worked for Infosys, where he was responsible for customer acquisition and growth engagements for US-based Fortune 1000 clients.
Ganesh is a frequent speaker at global industry events including Singapore Fintech Festival, Asia Investment Conference, SuperReturn, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), India-China Fintech Summit, and LendIt. Ganesh’s exits include IndiaMart (IPO), Coins.ph (Go-Jek), Shubham (Premji Invest), IFMR, TechProcess (Ingenico), Vistaar, Rural Shores, and Securent (Cisco). Ganesh’s current and past investment and entrepreneurial advisory roles include Village Capital, Accion Venture Lab, GSIF Accelerator and IIM-Ahmedabad, and he has been featured in Bloomberg, CNBC, The Economic Times, The Mint, and others.
Before co-founding Quona, Ganesh led Accion Frontier Investments’ work in India. Prior to his time with Accion, Ganesh was a General Partner of Lok Capital, a venture growth fund that invests in financial inclusion and social enterprises. Ganesh previously served as the Asia Director for Unitus Inc., a global organization investing in sustainable solutions in financial inclusion. During these stints, Ganesh invested and advised leading financial institutions and banks including SKS/Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd, Ujjivan, Equitas, IFMR/NorthernArc, Vistaar, TechProcess and Bandhan.
He previously led the entry of Greylock Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund, into the Indian market and also co-founded Travelguru.com, acquired by Travelocity. Early in his career, Ganesh worked for Infosys, where he was responsible for customer acquisition and growth engagements for US-based Fortune 1000 clients.
Ganesh is a frequent speaker at global industry events including Singapore Fintech Festival, Asia Investment Conference, SuperReturn, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), India-China Fintech Summit, and LendIt. Ganesh’s exits include IndiaMart (IPO), Coins.ph (Go-Jek), Shubham (Premji Invest), IFMR, TechProcess (Ingenico), Vistaar, Rural Shores, and Securent (Cisco). Ganesh’s current and past investment and entrepreneurial advisory roles include Village Capital, Accion Venture Lab, GSIF Accelerator and IIM-Ahmedabad, and he has been featured in Bloomberg, CNBC, The Economic Times, The Mint, and others.