Ecobank announces the 11 Ecobank Fintech Challenge finalists
Ecobank has announced the 11 finalists for the 2nd edition of the annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge competition for Africa-focused technology start-ups. All the finalists will be honoured at an Innovation Fair & Awards ceremony on August 30, 2018 at the Ecobank’s headquarters in Lomé, Togo.
“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. 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.” – Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank.
The event will let the start-ups exhibit and pitch their products to a jury for the Ecobank Africa Fintech Prize, and the winner will be awarded the top innovator award, and have two runners-up. The top 3 innovators will US$10,000, US$7,000, and US$5,000 in cash respectively.
“Africa has a proud history of innovation, and today’s fintech start-ups are the potential giants of tomorrow. We’re delighted by the quality of our Fintech Challenge finalists and have high hopes that they will capitalise on the mentoring and support opportunities of the Ecobank competition on their journeys to future success.” – Eddy Ogbogu, Ecobank Group Executive for Operations and Technology.
The 11 start-ups 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)
- Awamo (Germany)
These startups will also be enrolled in the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship.which runs for 6 months with following benefits:
- Multinational product roll-out support: for the start-ups deemed commercially viable to grow their businesses across any of Ecobank’s 33 markets in Africa;
- Service provider & ecosystem partner deals: for start-ups with deep capabilities to become product partners within Ecobank’s ecosystem;
- Technical & mentoring support: during the six months fellowship period, fellows will benefit from technical support from Ecobank’s global network of technology leaders, fintech experts, investors and management coaches.
See more about the Ecobank Fintech Challenge here.
