Following the commencement of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022 in August, six firms have been chosen as finalists in the challenge from over 700 fintech firms across 59 countries that competed. The six finalists were chosen after an intense competition among the applicants.
At the Grand Final, which is scheduled to be held at the Pan-African Center of the Ecobank Group in Lomé, Togo, on October 28, the finalists will compete for the top price of $50,000 and admission to the Ecobank Fintech Challenge Fellowship program as slated prior to the commencement of the challenge.
In random order, The 2022 edition finalists are MaishaPay from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cauri Money from Senegal, Moni Africa from Nigeria, Paycode from South Africa, DizzitUp from Togo, and Touchand Pay from Nigeria.
Read also: AMA Academy and Ecobank Partner to Offer Africa’s First Fintech Journalism Program
Benefits available for the participants
The Arise-sponsored 5th annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge will allow all finalists to be given access to Ecobank’s Fintech Mentoring Programme. Within the period of this program, Ecobank will assist them in exploring possibilities such as:
Rolling out their products on a pan-African scale: an opportunity to further integrate with Ecobank and potentially launch their products or services in all or part of Ecobank’s 33-country pan-African ecosystem.
Access to the Group’s pan-African Banking Sandbox to test and develop their products in the pan-African market.
Priority access to Ecobank’s venture capital partners to explore funding opportunities.
The Fintech challenge aligns with the bank’s aim
Tomisin Fashina, Ecobank Group Executive, Operations and Technology, said: “I am impressed by the growing number of applications for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. Applications have grown from about 412 applications in 2018 to over 700 in 2022. This demonstrates a definite paradigm shift within the African continent, with Africans’ desire to transform technological innovation into a real lever for socio-economic development. We thank all applicants for their participation and applaud the highly impressive quality of their entries. We look forward to partnering with them on their groundbreaking digital financial solutions to our continent’s unique challenges and to helping promote financial inclusion on the continent. “
Ecobank sets $50,000 Prize for African Fintech Challenge 2022
Gavin Tipper, CEO of Arise, partner, and co-sponsor of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022 competition, said: “Fintechs play a central role in creating innovative digital solutions that improve customer experience, deliver value propositions and reduce costs. Our investments in fintech are based on collaborative partnerships that advance financial inclusion on the continent and offer opportunities for mutual synergies with our balanced investment portfolio.”
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is designed to identify innovative fintech that are ready to grow and that we can partner with, mentor, and give access to Ecobank’s 33 African markets so that they can realize their potential and become pan-African success stories. This competition is in line with Ecobank’s Fintech strategy of building partnerships with African fintech to help transform digital finance and banking.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is organized in collaboration with partners across Africa and the world, including Arise, gold sponsor of the 2022 edition, Global Finder, TechCabal, Africa Fintech Network, and Konfidants.