Oluwapelumi Yusuf won the first MTN MoMo Hackathon in Nigeria. Yusuf won the $5,000 grand prize for coming up with Rova Pay, which uses MoMo APIs and has features beyond financial transactions.
With Rova Pay, customers can easily make purchases anytime, anywhere, using automated USSD, which eliminates the need for internet access and typing in codes by hand.
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How MoMo Got It Started
Tech developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators from a wide range of fields gathered at Four Points by Sheraton, Oniru Chieftaincy Estate, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday, October 27, 2023, to work on finding ways to speed up financial inclusion and the digitisation of payments in Africa.
The MoMo Hackathon is necessary for the Nigerian fintech industry, according to Chief Commercial Officer of MoMo PSB, Elsa Muzzolini. “At MoMo, we believe that innovation thrives not just within our brand but within the collective of stakeholders. We are providing developers with the tools and resources to reach those who are excluded from financial services or believe financial services are not personalised to their requirements. We work together to promote financial inclusion. Making MoMo available to Nigerian innovators, we help them create life-changing apps.
Yusuf wins 2023 MoMo Hackathon
After winning the MoMo Hackathon 2023, Oluwapelumi Yusuf said, “I am thrilled and honoured. Visiting remote Nigerian villages and seeing the constraints of internet connectivity for fundamental apps, especially payment, inspired me to create this solution. I realised I needed to help financial inclusion and bridge this gap.”
The MoMo Hackathon had more than just Oluwapelumi Yusuf, who stood out. Favour Ajie Divine and Marvis Igbokwe worked together to make MoMo Cash, which won second place and a cash prize of USD 3,000. Isaac Odinaka Franklin’s answer, Clique Plus Pay, won third place and a cash prize of USD 2,000.
The top 12 competitors also got gifts and were invited to represent Nigeria in the MoMo Hackathon at the Pan African grand finals.
Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda, Eswatini, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea Conakry, Zambia, Benin, South Africa, and South Sudan were just some of the 14 African countries that sent developers to the hackathon. They had the chance to help shape the future of digital finance and give millions of people access to complete, life-changing financial services.
The MoMo Hackathon is still a big part of how financial technology is improved, giving smart people chances to make a real difference in the field.