Patrick Njoroge: A sustainable future for shared prosperity

Keynote address (virtual) by Dr Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, at Copenhagen Fintech Week Global, 15 September 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you all!

Let me thank Copenhagen Fintech Lab for organizing this event, the Copenhagen Fintech Week Global, and for the invitation to deliver the Keynote Address. I also confirm that the topic of sustainability was the right bait to get me to participate in this conference. I am delighted to join you, albeit not in the usual face-to-face manner but in what has now become part of our daily experience- digital communication. What better way to discuss the important theme of "shaping a sustainable future" than on the very platform that will drive this sustainability?

I have fond memories of my visit to Copenhagen in April last year. I recall the illuminating discussions I had with innovators and other players in the Copenhagen fintech ecosystem. Most notably was my visit to the Copenhagen Fintech Lab, which included a test ride on an electric scooter. In the current context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic my visit seems like a distant world, without the constraints of social distancing, masks, and sanitizing.