The Poland-ASEAN Fintech Forum provides an opportunity for discussions about the nascent role of the financial sector in Poland’s economic agenda and the country’s aim of building a next-generation financial center.
The Forum is jointly organised by PKO Bank Polski, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), FinTech Poland, the Global FinTech Institute and the Singapore Business Federation under the patronage of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore.
Promote international dialogue and knowledge exchange to drive industry growth
Learn how the Polish fintech landscape is evolving and how you can tap on it
Establish business partnerships to bridge Polish and ASEAN financial ecosystems
Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore
Member of the Board Polish Investment and Trade Agency
Deputy CEO of PKO Bank Polski
Co-founder, Global Fintech Institute
Partner, Head of Corporate Banking and Climate Finance in CEE, Boston Consulting Group
Business & Investment Advisor. Fintech Leader. Ex-Banker.
Vice President, Polish Bank Association
Co-Founder and CEO, Dedoco
Director Innovation Projects PKO Bank Polski
Managing Partner of LEXcellence, President of Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association
CEO, Silent Eight
VeChain
Newport Technologies
Sustainability Lead, DiMuto
CEO, Accelpoint
Chief Revenue Officer at Vintom
Product Owner, PKO Bank Polski
Advocate / Partner / Head of FinTech / NewTech Sector Practice
Deputy CEO of PKO Bank Polski
Head of Fintech Market Development and Management at IT CARD
Director of Product Strategy and Marketing, M-DAQ
Head of Web3, Banking Circle
Ilona Korchut currently serves as Chargé d’affaires a.i. /Head of Political & Economic Section at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore. She has extensive experience working in the foreign service for over 15 years. Ms Korchut, among others, worked as the First Secretary in the Political and Economic Section at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bangkok, Thailand (2012-2017), as the Counsellor and the Head of Political & Economic Section at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Abuja, Nigeria (2018-2019), as the Counsellor and the Head of Southeast Asia Section in Asia-Pacific Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Graduated in sociology, postgraduate studies on Developing Countries and Global Development.
Piotr Dytko is a manager with extensive experience in the private and public sectors. A graduate of Law at the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics and Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Wrocław. He also completed doctoral studies at the University of Wrocław and postgraduate studies in management at the Economics University in Wrocław. He is also a graduate of MBA studies.
Prior to joining PAIH, he was, among other things, Chairman of the Management Board of Union of Employers’ Business and Science Poland. Previously, he managed health care units and research and development entities, including, among others, the Polish Centre for Technology Development ‘PORT’ and the main research centre of KGHM Capital Group – KGHM Cuprum.
Piotr Dytko also taught at the University of Wrocław and non-public universities in the field of State and Law, Administrative Law, Local Government in Poland and the EU.
Deputy CEO of PKO Bank Polski – Board Member, Head of Corporate Division
Andrzej Kopyrski is a graduate of Warsaw Institute of Technology and University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.
He started his banking career in Bank Pekao S.A. in 1992. In the years 1993-1996 he worked in corporate banking in ING Bank Polska S.A. and later he headed structured finance operations in Deutsche Bank Polska S.A. and since 1997 till 2001 he was Director in ABN Amro Bank (Polska) in charge of structured finance and capital markets.
Since 2001 he held a position of Member of the Management Board in HSBC Financial Services (Poland). Since April 2002 he worked in Bank BPH S.A. as Managing Director responsible for Treasury Sales, Structured Finance and Capital Markets Area and after merger with Bank Pekao S.A. he took the responsibility for Investment Banking and Structured Finance Department.
In the years 2008 – 2018 he was the Vice President of the Management Board of Bank Pekao S.A. managing the corporate and investment banking operations. Then he worked at the Polish Development Fund (PFR), where he was responsible for the Investment Division, supervising capital investments and COVID related support program for corporates in Poland.
Chia Hock Lai is a highly accomplished professional in the financial and technology industry, with nearly two decades of experience. He has held positions in various organizations, including the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) and NTUC Income. He is an alumnus of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and has received several prestigious fellowships for his contributions to digital transformation and skills development, such as the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) Fellow for Digital Transformation and a SkillsFuture (SSG) Fellow.
Hock Lai is a former & founding president of the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), former chairman of the Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS) and co-founder of the Global Fintech institute. He is also involved in various advisory and board member roles in organizations like the IEEE Computer Society Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Standards Committee (IEEE C/BDL), the NTUC-U Care Fund, and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). He is also an advisor to startups and a frequent speaker on topics related to digital transformation, fintech and blockchain at international events and universities.
Partner at Boston Consulting Group working across Central Eastern Europe and Middle East region. Pawel leads Corporate Banking & Climate Finance Practice in CEE as well as Public Sector in Poland. He specializes in strategies development, market entries and go-2-market strategies, climate and sustainability as well as digital and future-oriented models for various client segments (small business, SMEs, mid-caps, large-caps, IB / Capital Markets).
Paweł is also one of the key global experts in specialty financing, in particularly in asset-based finance, leasing and factoring. Most recently he worked on multiple engagements related to Assets-as-a-Service models and revenues finance.
He specializes also in Economic Development, FDIs as well as international trade, being core member of the BCG Global Advantage Practice. He is heavily engaged in majority of the BCG efforts related to Ukraine reconstruction and transformation for private and public sector clients, coordinating BCG efforts in the CEE region.
He studied banking, corporate finance, international business and climate policies at Warsaw School of Economics, Cracow University of Economics and Harvard Kennedy School.
Jason TAY is an Entrepreneurial Business Leader with an eclectic career across Traditional Finance, Corporate Banking, New Economy Fintech and the Web3.0 industry. Today he serves as Appointed Advisor to the region’s largest Venture Lending Fund worth US$1.5 billion, as well as 2 concurrent Advisory roles to a SGX Listed Media Tech Firm, and a Renewable Energy Blockchain project based in Dubai, backed by the Abu Dhabi Royal Family.
He has held roles including the Head of Business Development and Government Relations in M-DAQ; a Singapore based Series ‘D’ Fintech Company focused on providing innovative Foreign Exchange solutions, where he was responsible for the coverage of the firm’s institutional clients that span across Global Ecommerce Platforms, Regional Corporates, Stock Exchanges to Fintech heavyweights across the region, as well as organizing the firm’s infrastructure and partnerships for growth and expansion.
Jason accumulated more than 12 years in Corporate Investment Banking covering the Asia Pacific region across a myriad of industries ranging from Oil & Gas / Energy, Technology, Consumer Goods, Automobiles, Défense to Diversified Industries. He held the role of Director (Coverage) for Regional Multinationals based out of Singapore as well as the Country Banker for Thailand and Indonesia in Societe Generale up till 2019. He also held Origination and Regional Coverage roles in J.P. Morgan Chase, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank as part of his Banking career.
Jason holds a Bachelor of Business Management (Honours) Degree from the Singapore Management University.
Wlodzimierz Kicinski is an experienced executive in the banking industry. Since April 2017, he has been serving as the Executive Vice President of the Polish Bank Association. Before this role, from 2015 to 2017, he was the Supervisor of BPS Bank S.A., nominated by the Financial Supervision Authority (FSA).
Throughout his career, Kicinski has held various leadership positions in prominent financial institutions. From 2012 to 2013, he served as the Executive Vice President and CFO of KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. Before that, he was the President of the Management Board and CEO of Nordea Bank Polska S.A. from 2002 to 2012.
In addition to his extensive professional experience, Kicinski has a strong educational background. He holds degrees from the Warsaw School of Economics (Faculty of Foreign Trade) and the Warsaw University of Technology (Faculty of Mechanics and Technology). He has also completed postgraduate studies at the Institute of Foreign Trade Theory of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and the INSEAD Advanced Management Program in Fontainebleau.
Kicinski’s contributions extend beyond his executive roles. He has served as the Country Manager for Poland and a member of the Executive Committee for Poland, Russia, and Baltic countries in the NORDEA Group from 2009 to 2011. He has also been appointed to supervisory boards of domestic companies and international economic institutions, including PZU S.A., Hortex S.A., Bank Pekao S.A., KGHM International Ltd. in Vancouver, and KGHM Shanghai Trading Co. Ltd.
Before joining the Management Board of the Polish Bank Association, Kicinski was a member of the PBA Banking Ethics Committee. With his extensive experience and expertise, he has made significant contributions to the banking industry in Poland.
Founder, CEO Dedoco Pte Ltd
Daphne is the Founder and CEO of Dedoco. Transitioning from a family travel business to an 8-year corporate banking career, Daphne specialised in structured commodities and trade finance, notably leading a digital trade project in her last banking role involving the digitalization and adoption of cross-border e-trade by large MNC commodity clients and correspondent banks.
With prior experience in a tech startup, she founded Dedoco in 2020, securing investments from Temasek-backed Vertex Ventures in 2021. Daphne is also recognized for her thought leadership, and received accolades like SG100 Women in Tech and Top Women in Fintech globally. Currently, she is a Professional Council Member of Global Fintech Institute and sits on the Board of SGTech as its Lead for Web3/Blockchain workgroup.
Dr. Katarzyna Lasota Heller has over 20 years of experience in IT, IP and FinTech law. Managing Partner of LEXcellence –Swiss Law Firm in Baar (Zug). President of Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association, Co-Chair Regulatory Working Group – Crypto Valley Association.
Dr. Lasota deals with issues related to Blockchain, FinTech, NFTs and Metaverse on daily basis. As a lecturer at Kozminski University in Warsaw and HSLU in Lucerne she lectures on FinTech Blockchain, IP, and Technology Law; an attorney at law admitted to practice in Switzerland and in Poland.
Katharina received a doctoral degree in 2003 from Ludwig Maximilian University; as a scholar at the Max-Planck Institute in Munich. She is an alumnus of McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento California, where she finished her LL.M. Studies in 2004. Over the years, she has worked for several large law firms in Munich, Warsaw, and Vienna. Between 2010 and 2015 led a global compliance program of Naspers and PayU and was President of EDiMA.
Katharina is passionate about FinTech economic disruption and the data-driven economy.
Wife, and mother of a teenage daughter, loves hiking in the Swiss Alpes, and occasionally plays golf.
Head of Business Development SAFEHERON Pte. Ltd.
Jag Foo is an experienced security management and business development professional with more than 15 years of proven track record in the field of security, technology and artificial intelligence.
Jag is currently the Head of Business Development for Safeheron, an institutional-grade MPC self-custody service designed to enhance security and governance of asset management for enterprise clients.
is the co-founder and CEO of Silent Eight – a creator of artificial intelligence-powered solutions to combat money laundering and terrorist
financing. Based in Singapore, Martin provides the vision and the driving force behind the company’s advancements in fighting financial crimes. Silent Eight solutions are utilized by leading banks for AML and CFT purposes.
He has over 16 years of experience with software and artificial intelligence
solutions covering a wide range of applications. With an education in mathematics and a strong passion for entrepreneurship, Martin has created many successful startups in Europe and Asia, including a successful IPO. In 2001, he launched his first startup, konsultant.it, which offered software & hardware development solutions for SME’s. From there he moved to Wola Info, a leading European IT company, to become a strategic sales director. He then established SevenFlow Investments – a multidisciplinary engineering
company with a track record of landmark projects. SevenFlow Investments would finally become a part of a highly successful IPO.
Martin loves modern technology, computer gaming, and is fully dedicated
to living a green lifestyle that respects our planet and all of its inhabitants.
General Manager (SEA) vechain
Since Nov 2017, Sarah Nabaa has been helping enterprises innovate with vechain’s blockchain-as-a-service solutions.
As vechain’s General Manager(SEA) , she oversees the company’s web3 initiatives, with a keen focus on fostering a dynamic and engaged community of developers, projects, and investors. Her leadership involves spearheading the implementation of cutting-edge web3 solutions designed to address pressing sustainability challenges.
Kimberly Ho is the Sustainability Lead at DiMuto, a Digital Transformation Solution Company that redefines AgriFood Trade by replacing analog methods with streamlined digital solutions to enhance trade efficiency, transparency, and traceability. Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on their platform.
Kimberly is responsible for DiMuto’s ESG Management Feature which empowers AgriFood business owners with real-time insight into their ESG impact across their supply chains and determines opportunities for them to adopt sustainable solutions
Kimberly graduated from Yale-NUS College with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Environmental Studies.
CEO and Head of Acceleration at Accelpoint, Poland’s largest fintech and insurtech acceleration program, cooperating with global giants like Santander Bank, Santander Consumer Bank, Axa Partners, and Orange as well as industry leaders in Poland like Bank PKO BP. Maciej guided numerous startups into the scale-up phase, providing them with equity-free funding, corporate partnerships, and co-creation opportunities. His expertise encompasses product design, management, development, lending, innovation, and disruption in the banking and insurance sectors.
Maciej launched the first climate tech acceleration program in Poland in partnership with EIT Climate-KIC and EIT Innoenergy. In the past, he also created a Renewable Energy competency center. at a local subsidiary of Rabobank, later taken over by BNP Paribas.
Advocate / Partner / Head of FinTech / NewTech Sector Practice
Jan is an expert in new technologies and innovation with a particular emphasis on FinTech and financial market law. He combines technological know-how with his wide knowledge of legislation and practical transactional solutions in this sector.
He advises Polish and foreign companies on payment services, investment crowdfunding, DLT/Blockchain technology and cloud computing.
Jan specialises in MiCA, DORA, cryptocurrency transactions and anti-money laundering in companies and financial institutions.
Prior to joining us, Jan led the Innovation Development Team in the FinTech Financial Innovation Department of the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). He created and co-created legal solutions for the banking industry and legislative bridges enabling the implementation of innovations in the banking and financial sector, including in the area of capital markets.
Previously, within the Legal and Legislative Team of the Polish Bank Association, he chaired working groups dealing with FATCA/CRS tax reporting standards.
Jan provides training on technology and innovation and acts as an expert at major industry events in Poland, Europe and Asia.
I am the Director of Cards Banking & Fintech Department at ITCARD Group and Vice President and Board Member, Planet Pay Sp. z o. o. responsible for product, business development and strategic management of issuing and processing business. Previously, I worked as a Head of Fintech Market Development and Management being responsible for building our Fintech branch engaging more than 10 top Fintechs for cooperation. Before I was an IT Project Manager with over eight years of experience in IT projects involving software and application development.
I have been involved in projects related to payment services, including POS terminals, payment cards, 3DS, and e-commerce. I led a project to obtain the Principal Member license from VISA in the issuing domain, as well as the implementation of a comprehensive technological solution for card issuance for non-banking entities in Poland and abroad. I have implemented 3DS service projects for banks and fintech companies, tokenization projects for cards in Google and Apple wallets, and actively developed terminal products for ITCARD Group.
I am a strategic partner of VISA in the Fintech in the box program and a member of the Fintech Poland association. I actively support the development of the Polish fintech market by creating accessible yet advanced payment solutions for companies in the banking sector and beyond.
I hold a degree in Strategic Management and Project Management from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) and Business Economics from Coventry University in the United Kingdom. In my academic work, I delved into the topic of outsourcing in the payment services sector.
Andrea is a business and personal transformation leader whose work spans banking, Fintech, consulting and as an entrepreneur in Femtech and coaching.
With 20 years in the payments and financial technology sector, Andrea works with FinTech and digital payment companies to build strategic business frameworks that combine marketing channels, partner and product management across the region. She is skilled in thought leadership and leading clear frameworks with executable solutions and change. Her experience in Fintech includes digital and regional payment ecosystems and architecture, B2B marketing for go-to-market practice and sales enablement, especially in the Asia Pacific region.
In her roles, she has spoken at various events. Today, Andrea is always keen to support emerging leaders, communities growing businesses for local entrepreneurs, particularly in the wellness, sustainability and tech space. While she covers a global scope with deep expertise in Asia Pacific, she works mainly out of Singapore and occasionally, Hong Kong. She has previously held roles with regional functions with a proven track record in digital payments, financial services, banking management, operational technology, as well as business consulting.
Head of Web3 Banking Circle
I am the Head of Web3 for Banking Circle, a B2B Bank licensed in Luxembourg with branches in Denmark, Germany and the UK.
Previously I spent 22 years in DBS. My last role in DBS was as the Head of Business and Listing for the DBS Digital Exchange.
I am an advisor for Calvin Cheng Web 3.0 Holdings FZE which obtained a Dubai VARA provisional licence, Anchored Coins AG, a stablecoin issuer based in Switzerland and TechstormTV, a e-sports media company.
I am a board member of Damoon Technology Holdings (Europe) AG and Coins U Trust, a digital asset exchange.