Colombo to host Asia International Digital Economy & AI in Finance Summit 2025

Aerial model overview of Port City Colombo 

The Asia International Digital Economy & AI in Finance Summit 2025 — featuring the Asian Digital Finance Forum & Awards — will convene global leaders on October 23 at Port City Colombo to shape the future of inclusive, AI-driven financial systems across Asia through policy, regulation, and technological innovation. 

Organized by the Asian FinTech Academy (AFTA) in collaboration with the Fintech Association of Sri Lanka (FASL), and in strategic partnership with Port City Colombo, the summit highlights Colombo’s rise as a regional nexus for digital finance and AI innovation.  

The 2025 summit, themed “Bridging Intelligence, Inclusion & Innovation in Asia’s Financial Future,” will explore how AI is transforming finance through smarter infrastructure, inclusive policy, and technologies such as portfolio optimization, RegTech, digital identity, and sustainable finance.  

Strategically scheduled ahead of the Digital Finance Summit (DFS) 2025 in Brussels—organized by Fintech Belgium, where FASL serves as an ecosystem partner—the event underscores Sri Lanka’s deepening integration into global fintech dialogue. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels, also serving as the Mission to the EU, has played a key role in advancing these cross-border connections.    

“As AI reshapes global finance, this summit offers a timely forum to strengthen resilient, inclusive, and trusted systems,” said Dr. Sivaguru S. Sritharan, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of QuantSafe Inc., a deep-tech spinout of New York-based Wall Street Fintech AI Inc., and former Provost and Vice Chancellor of the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, with prior leadership roles at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

“Colombo’s emergence as a fintech bridge across Asia aligns with our mission to connect innovators across established and emerging markets,” added Russ Shaw, CBE, Founder of Global Tech Advocates.

“This summit represents a regional commitment to advancing AI-driven finance across Asia,” said Rajkumar Kanagasingam, Founding President of FASL, CEO of AFTA, and Industry Fellow at the Global Fintech Institute, Singapore. 

Key global strategic partners include Tech London Advocates (TLA), Global Tech Advocates (GTA), the International Digital Economies Association (iDEA), and Wall Street Fintech AI Inc.  

Port City Colombo, Sri Lanka’s first foreign-currency-designated Special Economic Zone for modern services exports, will host pivotal sessions on intelligent finance and next-generation digital economies—reinforcing Sri Lanka’s emergence as a hub for cross-border investment and innovation.  

Tech London Advocates (TLA) and Global Tech Advocates (GTA) connect Asia’s tech ecosystems with over 30 global hubs, including Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Riyadh, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Founded in London, TLA’s network of more than 15,000 members fosters international collaboration, and GTA is a strategic partner of London Tech Week, a leading global tech event.   

The International Digital Economies Association (iDEA) supports the summit’s vision of inclusive and sustainable digital transformation through collaboration among policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders.    

Wall Street Fintech AI Inc., a founding member of Tech New York Advocates, brings a research-led perspective on AI-powered financial infrastructure, including next-gen approaches to portfolio optimization and financial uncertainty quantification.  

Commercial Bank of Ceylon joins as the Official Banking Partner, supporting the summit’s focus on digital inclusion and AI-driven transformation.  Hilton Colombo serves as the Official Hospitality Partner.

Asian Digital Finance Forum & Awards 2025

A summit highlight is the Asian Digital Finance Forum & Awards, organized by AFTA following successful editions in 2022 and 2023, building renewed momentum toward the 2025 edition. 

The 2025 edition will spotlight emerging trends in AI-driven finance and policy innovation.

The Awards, judged by an independent international panel, continue to recognize excellence, having honoured leading institutions such as IFSCA (India; recognized for advancing cross-border fintech innovation via GIFT City), FreeBalance (Canada; global public finance technology), and IDEMIA (APAC; digital identity).

They have also celebrated Sri Lanka’s leading financial institutions and digital platforms, including Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, People’s Bank, Dialog Genie, and SLT-Mobitel mCash.

This year’s Awards expand to celebrate ethical AI, financial inclusion, sustainability, and cross-border collaboration.

Supporting organizations include TLA Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka & Maldives Chapter of the Colorado-based Global Academy of Finance and Management (GAFM), and other leading academic and industry contributors.