In line with its commitment to spearhead Digital Financial Services adoption and Financial Inclusion advocacy across Africa, HiPipo has launched the 2021 Women In FinTech Hackathon and Summit, with the opening of registration to all eligible participants.
The Women in FinTech Hackathon will convene developers – 75 percent of them being women – to come up with financial inclusion solutions that address their community needs, aided by Level One Project principles and latest technologies between 8th and 14th October.
Registration for the second #WomenInFinTech #LevelOneProject Hackathon has kicked off today September 21st, 2021 until October 4th after which successful teams will be announced.
The hackathon is open to women-led teams of 2 to 4 members, with each team having at least 75 percent female composition.
The Hackathon, organized in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, Modusbox, Mojaloop, and Level One Project, will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit on Friday, October 15th, 2021 where the three top teams will be announced and share USD 5,000 in prizes.
Empowering Innovators
HiPipo is proud to remain one of the continent’s premier advocates for the creation, dissemination, and adoption of digital financial services, and we remain highly enthusiastic to provide the ways and means for our innovators to fully develop solutions that will collectively lead millions of our people to better lives and improved livelihoods.
The inaugural Women in FinTech initiative in 2020 exceeded expectations and left no doubt that women are ready to play a starring role in the digital financial services space and can fill the product gap the sector currently contends with.
All the 15 participating teams presented excellent ideas, and HiPipo is more than pleased to reveal that it supported three (3) of them to grow into startups, each with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that’s ready for market, which was a success to an extent that they went on to take part in the recently-concluded 40 Days 40 FinTechs project.
“This is thus a call for more women innovators to step forward and register for the 2nd Women-in-FinTech Hackathon & Summit and have the opportunity to improve their skills in all aspects of the FinTech ecosystem. This will of course include being introduced to the Level One Project and its Principles, ideal for the creation of the Instant & Inclusive Payment Systems that will change the world,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted while unveiling the Women in FinTech initiative.
He added: “We are further enthused to reveal that a dozen of the participants will be shortlisted to be a part of the inaugural 90-day Women-in-FinTech Incubator. The Incubator is a program designed to further concretize their product development and business acumen, and improve their readiness for the fintech industry.”
“Most of all, as we continue to profess, the initiative continues to serve the truth that 100% financial inclusion will only occur if the effort is directed to bringing more women into the digital innovation and business space. HiPipo, with its Include Everyone program, and in concert with the Gates Foundation and other stakeholders, is proud to continue serving this purpose. We promise a fantastic arena to acquire and share the digital skills towards that end.”
Important Dates:
- 21st September to 4th October: Online Registration.
- 5th October: Eligible participants announced.
- 8th to 14th October: Women in FinTech hackathon underway.
- 15th October: Women in Fintech summit.
Eligibility:
- A team of 2 to 4 developers.
- The team leader must be a woman.
- 75 percent of team members must be women.
Benefits:
- Networking with fellow Developers and Facilitators from across the World.
- Mentorship from Industry Players and Business Leaders.
- Access to the latest infrastructure and technology.
- USD 5000 Prize Money to be shared by the winning teams.
- Fully paid 90 days Incubator Program for three top teams.
Prize Money Breakdown:
- Winning Team: USD2000 and participation in 90 Days Incubator Program
- First Runner Up: USD1000 and participation in 90 Days Incubator Program
- Second Runner Up: Participation in 90 Days Incubator Program.
