Eleven startups have been named finalists of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2018, which offers cash prizes and the chance to explore partnerships with Ecobank.
The annual challenge, which is run annually by Ecobank and was last year won by Nigerian fintech startup IroFit, awards the top three innovators cash prizes worth US$10,000, US$7,000, and US$5,000 respectively.
Each of the selected startups will exhibit and pitch their products to a jury for the Ecobank Africa Fintech Prize, which will be awarded at a ceremony on August 30 at the global headquarters of Ecobank in Lomé, Togo.
After the awards ceremony, Ecobank will enroll all 11 finalists into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship. The fellowship will run for a period of six months, during which the startups will benefit from an opportunity to further explore partnerships with the Ecobank Group.
The 11 startups are Lypa (Kenya), Wallet.ng (Nigeria), Nala (Tanzania), Litee (Benin), SESO Global (South Africa), InvestED (Sierra Leone), Eversend (France), Secapay (Nigeria), Virtual Identity (South Africa), MojiPay (Togo) and awamo (Germany)
“At Ecobank our digital strategy is spectacularly successful and has changed the landscape of African banking, so it goes without saying that we see fintech as a vital component for the economic transformation of the continent and the prosperity of its citizens,” said the group chief executive officer (CEO) of Ecobank Ade Ayeyemi.
“We want to do all we can to encourage the next generations of fintech entrepreneurs as they will be a driving force in propelling Africa into a globally competitive power in commercial services, enjoying significantly increased market share.”
