MEA Finance Magazine was present to cover the annual Backbase ENGAGE Dubai 2024 last November 19-21. Starting with an evening reception at the 25 Hours Hotel Dubai One Central this lively and incite-generating event included two days of top-level networking, presentations and panels including from an array of twenty key market speakers all focused on issues at the innovative cutting edge of banking technology and its role in shaping the growing financial services sector of our region.
Agenda and speakers:
BACKBASE ENGAGE DAY 1: WELCOME RECEPTION & DINNER: 19th November 2025
BACKBASE ENGAGE DAY 2:20th November 2025
9:30am – 10:00am: Banking reinvented: Jouk Pleiter, Founder & CEO, Backbase
10:00am – 10:20am: Regional keynote: Bhaskar Dasgupta, Senior Advisor, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Ahmad Al Makhtoum Private Office
10:40am – 11:10am : Acquire, engage, & delight: Building primary banking relationships: Karan Oberoi, Chief Product Officer, Backbase
11:10am – 11:55am:  Panel: Women driving the fintech revolution
- Moderator: Heidi Custers, Digital Transformation Director, Backbase
- Likeleli Monyamane, Head, Digital Programs, Standard Bank South Africa Limited
- Sepo L. Haihambo, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial FNB Namibia
- Ghazal AL Sakaal, EVP- Global Head of Digital Strategic Partnerships, Mashreq UAE
- Fatima Mansoor, Head of Client Relations & Digital Transformation Committee Member, SICO
1:30pm – 2:00pm: Enhance customer value through AI and automation: Thomas Fuss, Chief Technology Officer, Backbase
2:00pm – 2:30pm: Panel: Beyond the hype: real-world applications of AI in banking
- Moderator: Tim Rutten, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, Backbase
- Henning Soller, Partner, McKinsey
- Yasar Yilmaz, Global Industry Advisor, FSI, Microsoft
- Thomas Fussm, Chief Technology Officer, Backbase
2:50pm – 3:20pm: Fireside chat: The future of SME banking: innovation, inclusion, and impact
- Jarno van Hurne, VP Product, Business Banking, Backbase
- Mirna Sleiman, Founder & CTO, Fintech Galaxy
- Muhammad Hamayun Sajjad, Chief Executive Officer, Mashreq Pakistan
3:20pm-3:50pm   Transform banking with unified integrations and data connectivity: Roland Booijen, General Manager for Ecosystem, Backbase
3:50pm-4:35pm: Panel: Disrupting the disruptors: how banks are taking on fintech
- Ali Nanji, Regional Sales & Account Director, Backbase
- Ahmed Darwishm, Head of Digital Delivery, Bank Al Bilad
- Abdullah Alwabel, Head of Retail Digital Banking, Banque Saudi Fransi
- Sherif Elbehery, CEO, Misr Digital Innovation
- Ali Shekaili, AGM – Head of Digital Banking and e-Channel, National Bank of Oma
- Yves Soumelong, Regional Digital Product Project Manager, United Bank for Africa
4:35pm-5:00pm: CLOSING REMARKS
BACKBASE ENGAGE DAY 3: 21st November 2025
9:30am – 10:00am: The next generation of retail banking: from one size fits all to tailored value propositions: Rachael Lord, Product Director, Retail Banking, Backbase
10:00am – 10:30am: Balancing digital and human touch: strategies for wealth managers & private banks to engage traditional clients, Millennials and Gen Z: Lennart Asshof, Product Director Wealth, Backbase
10:45am – 11:30am: Segment-based business banking: meeting the demands of all business customers: Jarno van Hurne, VP Product, Business Banking, Backbase
11:30am – 12:00am: Democratising Integrations: Interoperability strategies for modern banking partnerships
- Deepak Pandey, Ecosystems – Director of Technology, Backbase
- Mayank Somaiya, Global Head, Ecosystem Partnerships, Backbase
12:00pm-12:25pm: CLOSING REMARKS: Jouk Pleiter, Backbase Founder & CEO
