The recent Ecobank Fintech Challenge for 2024 has unveiled its 12 finalists, which include Sawport Video Banking, and Sproutly Africa from Nigeria.
These finalists were revealed during the first semifinal event at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Lagos. The announcement was made by Bolaji Lawal, the Director/Regional Executive of Ecobank Nigeria, and Niyi Olagbami, the Executive Director/Chief Risk Officer.
Other notable finalists are Buupass (Kenya), MiaPay (Togo), EasyEquities (South Africa), PaySika (Cameroon), Exuus (Rwanda), Daba Finance (Cote D’Ivoire), PROBOUTIK (Senegal), Melanin Kapital Neobank (Kenya), YMO Africa (Guinea), and VaultPay (Democratic Republic of Congo).
Jeremy Awori, the Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, commented on the outstanding talent and innovation showcased by the finalists. He expressed excitement about their participation in the upcoming finale and emphasized Ecobank’s commitment to collaborating with them to develop customer-centric products and services for the advancement of the continent.
Isaac Kamuta, the Group Head of Payments Service, Cash Management & Client Access at Ecobank Group, shed light on the purpose behind organizing the challenge.
He explained, “This challenge goes beyond just a competition. It is an African initiative aimed at identifying, nurturing, supporting, and partnering with innovative businesses seeking to expand across Africa. Ecobank is dedicated to providing comprehensive support, including potential commercial partnerships, technical integration opportunities with our platforms, and market access across our 35 African markets.
“It is crucial to consider the broader context as nobody aims to confine their business to a single country; the goal is to achieve scalability across Africa and even globally.”
Djiba Diallo, the Senior Fintech Advisor at Ecobank Group, assured semi-finalists from across the continent that the bank remains open to collaboration with them.
The finalists will compete in the grand finale set to take place in Lome, Togo, in September for a $50,000 prize and a chance to join the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship programme.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge, initiated in 2017, attracted over 1550 applications from 70 countries, including those outside Africa.
In collaboration with international advisory firm Konfidants, the Ecobank Fintech Challenge receives support from various partners such as Huawei, Proparco, TechCabal, BlueSpace, Afrilabs, Africa Fintech Network, MEST Africa, Naija Startups, Expand in Africa, and Founders Africa.