Ecobank picks fintech challenge finalists

Pan-African banking group Ecobank has selected finalists for its inaugural 2024 Ecobank Fintech Challenge with the grand prize of US$50,000.

Held at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, the finalists were chosen from 40 high-performing fintechs who advanced from the competition's semi-final round.

The bank said this year it received over 1,550 applications from 70 countries in Africa and other global regions.

The finalists will present their innovative solutions at the grand finale on September 27, 2024, at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Lomé, Togo.

According to the bank, that event will be streamed on Ecobank's social media platforms to allow for the global audience to participate.

Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, praised the finalists' talent and innovation.

"At Ecobank, we're committed to collaborating with these business builders to develop products and services that will benefit our customers and contribute to our continent's progress," Awori added.

The chosen finalists are:

Kenya's BuuPass is an online bus, train and flight ticketing business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) platform that enables users to search, compare and book travel tickets via web, app or USSD.

Côte d'Ivoire's Daba Finance is a unified investment platform helping individuals and businesses make high-quality investments in Africa.

South Africa's EasyEquities, is an investment platform that makes it easy and affordable for individuals to invest in a variety of assets.

Rwanda's Exuus is a lending-as-a-service platform that provides financial solutions to underserved communities in Rwanda.

Kenya's Melanin Kapital Neobank is a digital wallet that helps SMEs in Africa access affordable capital through climate action and carbon credits.

The challenge finalists will present their solutions at the grand finale in Togo in September 2024.(Source: Image by senivpetro on Freepik)

Togo's MiaPay is a digital payment platform that allows users to shop in stores, pay at markets, pay for taxi rides, and receive money directly from their phones.

Cameroon's PaySika is a fintech startup focused on providing banking solutions for Francophone Africa.

Senegal's ProBoutik is a point-of-sale management and digital ledger application designed for merchants and traders.

Nigeria's Sawport Video Banking is a fintech solution that serves as a virtual branch for financial institutions.

Nigeria's Sproutly is a fintech platform that provides a virtual banking app specifically designed for children under the age of 17.

DRC's VaultPay is a payments infrastructure platform that enables financial institutions to transform local businesses into bank agents.

Guinea-Conakry's YMO Africa is a fintech that aims to simplify financial transactions through its mobile app that allows users to send and receive money as well as make payments.

According to the bank, 60 fintech startups have been inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship since its inception.

"This year’s Grand Finale will bring together fintechs, regulators, investors, financial institutions, global technology companies, tech hubs, entrepreneurs, and industry experts," Ecobank added.

This competition comes at a time when other big enterprises are championing African startups.

Earlier this month, tech giant Google selected 10 African startups to participate in its eighth cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program.

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa