Applications are open for the third edition of SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge for Africa, with the three winning fintech startups to travel to Canada to showcase their products, as well as receiving EUR10,000 (US$10,750) each.
The top 10 fintech startups to apply to the Challenge will be invited to present their solutions at the SWIFT African Regional Conference (ARC) to be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in May. ARC brings together policy makers, industry leaders and the broader financial community from across the African continent; attracting an audience of up to 500 delegates from 40 countries.
The selected startups will also receive expert mentoring and coaching.
At ARC, the audience will be tasked with choosing the top three startups as finalists. They will each receive an EUR10,000 (US$10,750) cash prize, and win participation at Sibos, SWIFT’s annual global financial services conference, which will be held in Toronto, Canada, in October.
SWIFT Innotribe said ARC presents an unique forum for networking, education, discussion and debate, and as such is a great opportunity for fintech startups to connect with the broader financial sector.
“Fintech companies are increasingly part of the fabric of Africa’s financial services industry. Now in its third year, Innotribe’s Startup Challenge for Africa plays an important role in finding the continent’s most exciting young companies, bringing them together with the financial sector and helping them grow,” said Sido Bestani, head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Innotribe.
Calling Africa a “hotbed of fintech activity”, Fabian Vandenreydt, global head of securities at Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute at SWIFT, said: “Through the Startup Challenge, we want to spotlight innovation playing a role in the future of the financial industry across the continent and provide an opportunity for young African companies to use Innotribe’s global network to help them maximise their huge potential.”
Applications are open here, until mid-March. The shortlist of successful candidates will be released in April.
Disrupt Africa reported South African startups Hello Paisa and The Sun Exchange, and Cameroon’s WeCashUp, were named the winners of last year’s Innotribe Startup Challenge.
