Damu Winston, Founder Of Finteachable.com, Discusses Financial Inclusion and Community Development With Dinis Guarda

Damu Winston is an international digital advisor, serial entrepreneur, founder of Finteachable.com, and lead fintech trainer for all of the banks within the United Arab Emirates. In this interview with Dinis Guarda, he discusses how 4IR technologies like blockchain, AI, and fintech are set to shape the future of cities. Available on Dinis’ YouTube podcast, the interview is powered by Businessabc.net and citiesabc.com.

Damu is an Amazon best selling author of ‘I Don’t Trust You, But Blockchain and Bitcoin Will Help’. Having led globally distributed teams in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, and US domestically, Damu is an expert at building innovative solutions that empower organisations, harness diversity, and leverage cutting-edge technology to exceed expectations.

Highlighting his career trajectory, he tells Dinis:

“Finteachable is an ecommerce marketplace for industry-leading fintech experts that are now teachers. We offer hands-on experiences covering a wide range of topics such as Artificial Intelligence, blockchain & bitcoin, Design Thinking, Open Banking, Project Management, Big Data & Analytics, Cybersecurity, Full Stack Development and so much more.

I am also an EIBFS Lead Fintech Lecturer, where I’ve personally trained over 400 banking professionals in the UAE with over 500+ classroom hours since Dec 2018.

Because of COVID-19, I have other projects based on that in the US. One of them is based on the economic injury we saw in the beginning of the pandemic, we saw that SMEs and entrepreneurs were struggling to get funding so we created this platform to precisely sort that need for capital. Introducing Covid19funding.us, a platform to help businesses gain access to much needed financial capital during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) economic injury. The platform’s roadmap is to offer a pathway to fast cash and access to a full range of products and services (including basic consulting, compliance reporting capabilities, and digital solutions for managing and streamlining organisational and operational small business needs.”

Damu Winston’s diverse background includes significant experience in the US, Middle East, and Africa. As the founder of Finteachable.com and an advisor to various startups, Winston has a unique perspective on global innovation.

“We are limited by what we are surrounded ourselves by and that is what makes us who we are. The more we can broaden that, the richer we become as individuals”, he tells Dinis.

Finteachable: Fintech education to empower communities

Finnteachable, founded by Damu, provides personalised fintech training. He describes it as a “marketplace for fintech experts,” aimed at providing personalised training to professionals, thereby enhancing skills critical for societal and community advancement. He told Dinis:

“We offer webinars and different educational solutions to entrepreneurs and businesses how to implement cutting-edge technologies and fintech solutions into their businesses. Our approach to the learning process is through very tailored solutions to every one of our users’ needs. One of the things we teach is to start locally and then scale once they are ready. Another important aspect in our world today, something we also share is the importance of collaboration.”

Financial inclusion and CBDCs: Our tech-enabled future societies

Damu highlighted to Dinis that the modern landscape of the financial industry is tech enabled. This, he says, ensures that everybody has access to financial services.

“The whole financial system is being transformed. Technology and new processes, including a new mindset, are creating an opportunity to disrupt the entire financial system. And that means that financial inclusion is more real than it has ever been”, he says.

Highlighting the trends dominating the future of financial industry, he says:

“I see a big trend coming in the form of Central Bank Digital Currencies. We will see different national institutions embracing CBDCs in the next few years.

Another trend is regarding value and currencies. What is happening today with our FIAT currencies is that the concept of value is being broken. Hyperinflation, the role of central banks, the economic crisis, etc is making the currency’s value to change. On the other hand we have emerging cryptocurrencies, which are based on other rules, are more distributed, are borderless and worldwide which value is created differently.”

He adds: “And that is because -or highly fueled by- technology: technology allows us to be more efficient and therefore drive more profit, while also improving the ROI, which is key too in our current financing system. And that not only applies to business growth but also healthcare, and government departments, etc.”

Collaborative efforts to make 4IR technologies benefit humanity

Damu emphasises that collaboration is pivotal to urban development. He also highlights the importance of recognising human ingenuity in creating artificial intelligence and the imperative of surrounding oneself with supportive teams. Speaking about the importance of collaborative efforts in channelling these 4IR technologies for the benefit of humanity, he says:

“As I understand it, governments see these technologies as highly disruptive but others see their advantages and try to harness them. For example, Apple is using a technology for their payment system that is used in the dark web, but Estonia does that too. There are some governments and businesses that make use of technologies that are highly disruptive for good. And even if they harness these technologies for good, their impact on society is of great importance. That is why open conversations, tests and not leaving anyone behind is so important right now.”