Kombe Kaponda is a leading regional Finance, Banking, and technology professional, a published author who is a highly motivated financial markets infrastructure (FMI) specialist, a scholar for a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), has a Master’s Degree in ICT Regulation, Policy and Management (MEng.), a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSc.), is a certified Chartered Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) in Zambia certified by Tufts University under the Fletcher School of Law and diplomacy. Kombe is a very active contributor to SADC and the global fintech and digital innovations agenda and is currently sitting on the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Architecture Interoperability committee, Taxonomy & CBDC, Digital Currency Ecosystem Global Initiative Working group. Kombe is a global speaker and has facilitated workshops and seminars with several training partners including, Africa Bank 4.0 Summits, Attorney General Alliance AGA Africa, ESAAMLG, ISACA, Ada Labs and Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence (AiCE), SADC Payments Associations as a subject matter expert on various subjects ranging from cybersecurity,  TBML, AML/CFT, Cryptocurrency investigations, regulation and supervision of Virtual Assets (VA) and Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs). .

He is a Central Banker by career and a seasoned ICT Networks and Security oversight professional with over 20 years of ICT management and over 5 years of progressive experience in ICT financial markets Infrastructure management, Artificial intelligence (AI) in finance and Cybersecurity in digital financial services, ICT operational risks, governance, strategy implementation, Public procurements management, ICT Project management and service delivery. A central banker with multicultural expertise, strategic and analytical thinker, Information security and risk management and hold multiple technology vendor certifications from CISCO, Microsoft, HP, CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Enterasys Extreme networks Network Admission Control (NAC), Enterprise WIFI, ITIL service management, Fiber Optics Associations (FOA) CFOS/D, CFOT, Diplomatic Security.

Kombe is the current chairperson for the Central Bank of Zambia (BOZ) FinTech Working Group, a technology lead member of the Bank of Zambia Fintech-Regtech, instant and inclusive payments IIPS think tank group working on monitoring and overseeing the development of financial technologies (FinTech) and regulation of these technology-enabled solutions through (Regtech) in Zambia to improve financial inclusion. He is a vibrant and energetic founding trustee of the Association for Digital Finance Practitioners (ADFP) in Zambia, an association formed to promote digital finance products, Payments systems sensitization and oversight, consumer protection in digital financial services and services usage and improvement by offering technical advice in building the DFS ecosystem in the country. The association also aims at promoting quality of service in mobile connectivity and consumer protection, plans to promote payment systems sensitization, Innovation, advocacy for Financial Inclusion, promoting co-opetition and Interoperability, advocating sustainability and enable Financial Markets to work for the Poor.

Kombe has local expertise and global competencies and holds a master’s degree in ICT Policy, Regulation and Management, a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and has solid experience working with the Central Bank of Zambia, the United States agencies in Zambia including the Embassy of the United States, CDC and USAID, Private and government institutions. Kombe also holds a Chartered Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) with the Tufts University under the Fletcher School of Law and diplomacy of the USA and has completed courses on Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Finance, Cybersecurity in Finance, Regulation of Digital Financial Services, Consumer Protection as a Business Strategy, AML-CFT Regulation & Compliance, Product Management in Fintech for Emerging Markets, Interoperable and Inclusive Payment Systems, Leading Digital Money Markets, A Global perspective, Operationalizing Mobile Money, and Digital Identity and application in digital financial services. 

Over the years, he has developed the passion to ensure that digital financial systems run efficiently and safely and do not introduce systemic risk to the financial system. He has also acquired team-building skills and people management, Budgeting and Reporting, Strategic vision and Execution, Process and Project Management, Cloud and Distributed computing. Strong believer in digital financial services (DFS) platforms that allow for saving wisely, borrowing responsibly and for overall financial inclusion.