The 2026 BAFT MENA Forum, taking place January 20–21, 2026, in Dubai, UAE brings together the region’s senior executives, influencers and industry experts to explore the forces redefining MENA’s financial ecosystem.
This year’s theme, Tech, Tides, and Transformation, captures the accelerating convergence of technology and banking amid shifting global and regional currents. From stablecoins, tokenization, and generative AI to evolving trade corridors and macroeconomic realignments, these sessions will examine how transaction banking, specifically within the Middle East North Africa context, are navigating change, fostering collaboration, and driving new opportunities for growth and resilience.
In addition to these thought-provoking and interactive sessions, the Forum provides a platform to connect with peers, partners, and innovators shaping the next wave of transformation. Participants will engage in bilateral meetings and dedicated networking sessions designed to spark collaboration and deliver actionable insights during the 2-day Forum.
Conference Highlights
Call for Featured Speakers
BAFT is seeking transformational and inspiring senior executive leaders for consideration as one of our featured speakers at the Forum. Please complete the speaker form to express your interest.
Speaker guidelines
All times are in Gulf Standard Time (GST)
9:00 – 12:30
12:30 – 13:30
13:30 – 14:00
14:00 – 14:30
14:30 – 15:05
As global tariff battles and shifting alliances reshape trade flows, MENA sits at the crossroads of disruption and opportunity. This session unpacks the macroeconomic ripple effects on growth, investment and financial stability, and explores how FI’s can navigate turbulence to enable transformation across the regions’ trade and capital corridors.
Panelist
Simon Ballard
Chief Economist
First Abu Dhabi Bank
Nassib Ghobril
Chief Economist, Head of the Economic Research
Byblos Bank Group
15:05 – 15:40
15:40 – 16:15
This panel will explore the evolving landscape of Treasury Transformation and Digital Payments, focusing on how organizations are leveraging technology to modernize financial operations, enhance liquidity management, and streamline payment ecosystems.
16:15 – 16:50
This interactive session brings together senior delegates from key emerging market economies to share first-hand perspectives on their evolving economic landscapes and financial resilience. Participants will explore how MENA-based financial institutions can deepen partnerships to support trade finance, liquidity, and cash management in these dynamic markets.
Panelist
Faisal Lalani
Group Head FI
Habib Bank
16:50 – 17:25
Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) is one of the most complex and least detected forms of financial crime, thriving in the opacity of global commerce. With globalization, intricate supply chains, and free trade zones, illicit actors exploit vulnerabilities that often go unnoticedr by traditional controls. This session will explore red flags in practice, the role of technology, and the critical need for cross-border cooperation among banks, regulators, and customs authorities.
Moderator
Anirudha Panse
MD, Head of Trade Product Management
First Abu Dhabi Bank
Panelist
Ibrahim Al Aswad
Trade and Working Capital
Barclays
Ashutosh Taparia
Chief Operating Office
CredAble
17:30 – 18:30
All times are in Gulf Standard Time (GST)
08:00 - 09:30
9:30 – 9:40
9:40 – 10:20
This session will explore how stablecoins and tokenization are transforming financial services, from enhancing liquidity and enabling fractional ownership to enabling 24/7 access to markets. Discussion will cover interoperability between traditional finance and decentralized platforms, regulatory frameworks, like the Genuis Act, shaping issuance and reserve management, and the balance between innovation and risk mitigation. Real-world applications in remittances, treasury, e-commerce, and cross-border transactions will highlight the path toward broader bank adoption.
Panelist
Godfrey Sullivan
SVP & Head Products & Solutions CEMEA
Visa
Bhaskar Dasgupta
Chairman
Middle East Stablecoin Association (MESA)
10:20 – 11:00
Following MLETR adoption, tokenization of trade is the next step in the digital transformation of trade finance. This session will cover use cases, the opportunities and challenges, as well as the various solutions to overcome these.
11:00 – 11:30
11:30 – 12:10
By now, there is broad agreement in the industry that in order to create value for customers, traditional banks and Fintechs/Third Party providers should collaborate. This co-operation generally goes across three verticals – Funding, Sales and Collaboration, and each institution approaches this differently. This session will be a discussion between banks and FinTech’s on the different approaches taken to further cooperation, what strategies work, what is lacking, with some real-life use cases of these scenarios.
Moderator
Naman Kapoor
Managing Director, Head of Payments for Middle East and Africa
Citi
Panelists
Ani Sane
Co-founder and Chief Business Officer
Terrapay
Luke Spires
EMEA FI Relationship Management
StoneX
Farooq Siddiqi
CEO Project Hal
SC Ventures
12:10 – 12:45
Generative AI is rapidly transforming the way banks operate, from streamlining workflows to enhancing risk management and customer engagement. This session explores how financial institutions, from regional banks to global players, are leveraging AI-driven solutions to boost efficiency, reduce costs and fraud, and improve overall performance metrics such as the cost-to-income ratio. Through real-world use cases and insights from both banking leaders and solution providers, the discussion will highlight practical strategies for successful implementation, the decision-making hurdles institutions face, and how to navigate challenges to achieve meaningful, scalable impact in trade finance.
Panelist
Mohamed Ahmed AlHammadi
Group Head of Financial Institutions & Transaction banking
National Bank of Bahrain
12:45 – 13:45
12:45 - 17:30
13:00 – 14:30
This Briefing is open to stablecoins workshop only participants and all MENA Forum attendees, regardless of gender, and included in your full conference registration.
Panel session: From Inclusion to Influence: Women Driving Corporate Transformation in MENA
This panel will focus on women’s evolving role from participation to strategic influence within regional corporates and financial institutions. We will discuss how corporate policy shifts (ESG, sustainability, diversity) are creating new opportunities in the region, a few case studies of women leading digital or operational transformation, and the link between inclusive leadership and business performance.
14:30 - 17:30
This training workshop is open to all conference attendees (and included in your full conference registration) and training workshop only participants.
This is an interactive workshop exploring how stablecoins are reshaping global transaction banking. Based on BAFT’s Impact of Stablecoins on Payments white paper, the workshop examines the benefits, risks, and regulatory considerations of stablecoins, as well as emerging alternatives such as CBDCs and tokenized deposits. Gain practical insights into how digital assets and tokenized money are influencing the next generation of cross-border and corporate payments.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Check the Stablecoins Workshop page for detailed program and trainer information.
Full Conference
| Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (Until December 5, 2025) |
Regular Rate (from December 6, 2025 – January 2, 2026) |
Last Minute Rate (After January 2, 2026) |
| Member | $575 USD | $675 USD | $775 USD |
| Non-Member | $775 USD | $875 USD | $975 USD |
Stablecoins Training Workshop ONLY
| Registration Type | Early Bird Rate (Until December 5, 2025) |
Regular Rate (from December 6, 2025 – January 2, 2026) |
Last Minute Rate (After January 2, 2026) |
| Member | $200 USD | $300 USD | $400 USD |
| Non-Member | $300 USD | $400 USD | $500 USD |
Please Note:
You will be asked to log in to your BAFT web account to complete registration. If you have not reset your password or created a BAFT account, please complete this step before proceeding with your registration.
A veteran of the financial markets, with over 25yrs of market experience, Simon joined First Abu Dhabi Bank as its Macro Strategist in January 2018. Over his career, Simon has built up a wealth of multi-asset, global macro investment strategy knowledge, working in both London and New York. Simon worked previously for BNP Paribas, RBC and National Australia Bank in London, and for Bear Stearns in London and New York. Bi-lingual in French, his primary focus within the Market Insights & Strategy team at First Abu Dhabi Bank is on global macro issues and in particular how these are relevant to investment strategies within the MENA/GCC region.
Tod Burwell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of BAFT. Prior to being promoted to CEO, he served as the Senior Vice President of Trade Products with oversight of all trade-related initiatives including the Global Trade Industry Council, Trade Committees, and other strategic initiatives of the organization. Mr. Burwell has over 25 years of trade, supply chain and cash management experience as a banking practitioner, as well as serving as a consultant to global corporations and suppliers of strategically integrated trade solutions. Prior to joining BAFT, Mr. Burwell was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and held senior global management roles responsible for trade operations, launching the logistics business and managing global product sales for trade finance and logistics management.
Tom has been at Ebury for close to 12 years. Throughout his tenure he has held various leadership roles most recently in Switzerland and the UK & Ireland where he was Country Manager and responsible for all commercial activity. He was made a Partner in 2014. As part of his new role, Tom will re-locate to Ebury’s office in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), the leading and comprehensive financial ecosystem in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.
Nassib Ghobril has been the head of economic research and analysis at Byblos Bank in Beirut since March 2006. From 1997 until 2002, he was the head of research at Lebanon Invest. Ghobril then joined Sarader Investment House, the investment banking arm of Groupe Saradar. When Beirut’s Bank Audi acquired Saradar in 2004, he became the head of research and played a major role in expanding the scope of research conducted at the bank. Ghobril has a bachelor’s degree in political studies from the American University in Beirut and a master’s degree in international relations from the American University in the US. He also has a master’s degree in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management in the US. In 2009, Ghobril was recognised as the best economist in Lebanon and its diaspora by the World Lebanese League.
Naman Kapoor as the Head of Payments for the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, where he drives payments strategy across 29 countries. In this expanded role, Naman will focus on enhancing digital payments, liquidity management, and financial innovation to strengthen Citi’s presence in the MEA market. With over 18 years of experience, Naman continues to serve as Managing Director at Citi, a position he has held since January 2024. Previously, he led Payments and Liquidity for the India Subcontinent, overseeing cash management, receivables, and fintech partnerships. His global career spans leadership roles in India, Malaysia, Korea, and now MEA, making him a key driver of Citi’s digital banking and payments transformation. As he takes on this new responsibility, his focus will be on scaling Citi’s payment infrastructure, driving innovation, and delivering seamless financial solutions in the region.
Mr. Faisal Lalani joined the Bank on March 1, 2018, as Head of International Banking. He possesses over-all banking experience of over 20 years both at domestic and international locations. He started his career at JP Morgan Chase and had also been associated with ABN Amro Banki, Royal Bank of Scotland, Mashreq Bank-UAE and Emirates NBD Bank-UAE where he held senior positions. His past position at Emirates NBD Bank, UAE was head of Institutional and International Banking. During his career, he has worked in Singapore, Amsterdam, London and UAE. He also had short term assignments in New York And Hong Kong.
Anirudha Panse (Ani) is the MD & Head of GTB Trade Finance Product Innovation (TPI) at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). The TPI team is responsible for launching innovative, and digitized Trade products and solutions globally for FAB across the traditional trade products and open account solutions. Ani’s maintains oversight on the team responsible for structuring and commercializing the complex trade solutions in the trade and commodity finance domain. Risk Management forms a critical part of Ani’s domain wherein the Trade Risk Distribution as well as the Trade Business Risk functions form part of Ani’s responsibilities. During this career, Ani has successfully launched several innovating and complex solutions in the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) / Receivables Finance / Inventory Financing space and commercialized them into multi-million $ businesses. Ani was part of the founding team that launched industry wide initiatives like UAE Trade Connect, a blockchain based AI/ML driven solution for reducing frauds in Trade, and in the past has represented his bank in national FATF assessments with Central Banks and also through Steering Groups related to SCF with No 10 Downing Street, and the NHS.
Ani has been driving business development for Electronic Payments and Services for over 20 years. He has been the steering force behind powering our partners across the globe. ces for over 20 years. He has been the steering force behind powering our partners across the globe.
A strategic, accomplished, results oriented transaction banking and fintech leader with three decades of experience in running and scaling global, regional, and country businesses across multiple geographies. With deep expertise in the area of transaction banking and in particular, in trade and supply chain finance. And driven the execution of global agendas, both at Standard Chartered (as global head of trade finance ) and in a fintech (in DLT Ledgers ,Singapore where I was the CEO ). Farooq is passionate about people and culture, with a focus on career development and nurturing of future talent.
Luke Spires manages financial institution relationships at StoneX, focusing on the delivery of frontier and emerging market FX payout solutions across the EMEA region. Prior to joining StoneX, he held roles in correspondent banking and FX sales at J.P. Morgan, with a strong emphasis on building and managing relationships with banks across the GCC and wider MEA region.
As Head of Products and Solutions, Godfrey oversees the growth, adoption and evolution of Visa’s products and services to meet the needs of the vast set of fintechs, sellers, financial institutions, and consumers Visa serves across Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Godfrey’s journey at Visa began in 2021 as Senior Vice President, Head of Strategy for CEMEA, overseeing the implementation of multi-year growth plans across dynamic and diverse markets. With an extensive 25-year career in the regional banking and payments industry, Godfrey has been instrumental in rolling out a range of transformational strategies that have defined the achievements of traditional and non- traditional financial institutions.
Ashutosh Taparia is CredAble’s Chief Operating Officer and Global MD for Enterprise Coverage & Trade. An experienced trade and supply chain finance professional, Ashutosh has a penchant for problem-solving and a knack for forging strong client relationships. At CrediAble, he is leading our efforts in building industry-focused differentiating competencies by recognizing potential avenues of growth and ensuring revenue realization. He heads a team responsible for identifying and developing opportunities for the platform business across India.
Join the transaction banking community along with others involved in cross border payments and trade as they gather to discuss key issues and best practices at the 2026 BAFT MENA Forum. The Forum will focus on correspondent banking with topics including de-risking, Islamic banking challenges and opportunities, the evolving trade and payment landscapes, and regulatory reform for transaction banking. The MENA Forum is your opportunity to position your organization as a thought leader and connect with your clients. Plus, network with your colleagues or have uninterrupted meetings with prospective and future clients during dedicated bilateral meeting times included in the program schedule.
The 2026 BAFT MENA Forum will be held at the Embassy Suites in Dubai’s Business Bay.
Marasi Drive, Business Bay
Dubai UAE
Book Your Room
A special block of rooms at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Dubai Business Bay & the Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Business Bay (next door) have been reserved exclusively for BAFT conference and workshop/WTB attendees. These block of rooms often sell out, so book early to guarantee your room at the discounted attendee rate. The hotel booking deadline is December 1, 2025.
Book your choice of hotel by completing the hotel reservation form and send an email to [email protected].
Airport Transfers
BAFT has also arranged airport transfers for your convenience at USD $60 each way, up to 3 adults per car. Complete the hotel reservation form to reserve your airport transfers.
Interested in sponsoring the 2026 MENA Bank to Bank Forum? We can tailor your sponsorship package to meet your goals.
To discuss your sponsorship options, please contact:
Matthew Kaitz
Senior Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071