Thirteen winners have been announced at the inaugural Africa Tech Summit Awards in Nairobi, Kenya, recognising the leading entrepreneurs and ventures shaping the tech industry across the continent.
Disrupt Africa reported in November on the launch of the Africa Tech Summit Awards, a new platform designed to celebrate the most innovative and impactful tech solutions, companies, and leaders across Africa.
The winners of the awards were announced at the annual Africa Tech Summit Nairobi, powered by Raenest, on February 12, across 11 sector categories and two individual ones.
“The awards were created to celebrate tech companies driving business and growth across a range of sectors, and it was fantastic to host so many finalists doing this, all in one room. A huge thank you to our independent judging panel and to everyone who joined us in recognising their achievements, cheering them on and closing the seventh Africa Tech Summit Nairobi on a high,” said Lauren Adair, director of Africa Tech Summit.
The winners of the Africa Tech Summit Awards are listed below:
Agri-tech Award – Mazao AgClimate Limited (Tanzania): With over 50 million smallholder farmers at risk of losing arable land due to the overuse of synthetic fertilisers and deforestation, MazaoHub aims to restore soil health, reduce fertiliser dependency, and prevent environmental collapse, enabling both ecological balance and food security.
AI Award – Cassava Technologies (South Africa): Cassava Technologies is pioneering AI-driven infrastructure to enhance connectivity, cybersecurity, and cloud services. Their innovations ensure businesses and individuals can access secure, scalable, and affordable digital solutions, fueling Africa’s digital economy.
Climate Tech Award – Sabi (Nigeria): Sabi’s Technology Rails for African Commodity Exchange (TRACE) platform is a blockchain-enabled climate technology that delivers real-time traceability, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance, and carbon tracking for commodities like cocoa, lithium, and copper.
Cross Border Payments Award – Flutterwave (Nigeria): Flutterwave’s Send App simplifies international remittances, helping individuals and businesses transfer money seamlessly across 35+ countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Nigeria, and Kenya in minutes.
Digital Commerce Award – OmniRetail (Nigeria): Retail trade in Africa is highly fragmented, with nearly 90 per cent of retailers relying on the traditional distribution system. OmniRetail is digitising the retail sector by simplifying distribution and enabling better access to essential goods.
Ed-tech Award – Ikusasa Technology Solutions (South Africa): Championing inclusive education, Ikusasa Technology Solutions is digitizing vocational training through its SMART Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative.
Enterprise Award – Smile ID (Nigeria): Africa faces significant challenges in identity verification, with over 400 million individuals lacking reliable IDs. Smile ID addresses this gap by providing innovative solutions that verify identities in real time, reduce fraud risks, and enable secure transactions.
FemTech Award – My Pregnancy Journey (South Africa): The first African-focused maternal digital health app, offering culturally relevant pregnancy tracking, local health expert connections, and a digital ecosystem that supports women from pregnancy through postpartum.
Fintech Award – HUB2 (Mauritius): Cross-border payments in Francophone Africa remain complex, with over 100 mobile money operators and numerous banks working independently. This fragmentation makes it challenging for businesses to navigate and integrate payment systems. HUB2 addresses this issue by providing a single API that consolidates mobile money, bank transfers, card payments, and cryptocurrency, simplifying the transaction process.
Health-tech Award – Zuri Health (Kenya): Is a pioneering digital healthcare platform that ensures affordable and accessible healthcare across Africa. With virtual consultations, AI-powered diagnostics, pharmacy delivery, and chronic care management, Zuri Health serves patients via mobile apps, WhatsApp, SMS, and websites.
Web3 Award – MiniPay (Nigeria): Millions of people in emerging markets lack access to essential financial services, and many find blockchain and cryptocurrency products intimidating. Integrated into Opera Mini, MiniPay enables fast and low-cost peer-to-peer transactions using USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), and Celo Dollar (cUSD).
Female Tech Innovator – Chinwe Udo-Davis (Nigeria): Chinwe is the co-founder and CEO of Instollar, a green energy marketplace that addresses the limited access to clean, reliable energy in Africa, particularly in rural and underserved areas. InstallHer trains women in solar installation, empowering them with skills and creating job opportunities in the green economy.
Young Tech Innovator – Maxwell Opondo (Kenya): He developed Zerobionic, a robotic arm that responds to sign language, enabling real-time communication and interaction for students with hearing impairments.
