Ecobank has announced the three winners for the 2nd edition of the annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge, a competition for Africa-focused technology start-ups.
The three were picked from eleven fintech start-ups from across the continent and beyond that qualified for the final round of the showdown.
In total, the three winners who were unveiled at the global headquarters of Ecobank in Lomé, Togo on Thursday, will bag US dollars 22000 (about Shs83m).
The winners were Nala for first place and it will take $10,000, while Virtual Identity and Wallet.ng, which came in second and third positions respectively will bag $7000 and $5000 cash prizes apiece.
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At the ceremony, the start-ups exhibited and pitched their products to a jury for the Ecobank Africa Fintech Prize. The eleven finalists are now members of the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship. The Fellowship will run for a period of six months during which Ecobank Fintech Fellows will benefit from an opportunity to further explore partnerships with the Ecobank Group that includes:
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.
The eleven 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) and Awamo (Germany).
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is designed in partnership with the advisory firm Konfidants and is supported by partners across Africa and the world.
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