Ivorian fintech takes Ecobank Challenge top prize

Ecobank, the Pan-African banking group, has declared Daba Finance from Côte d'Ivoire as the winner of its Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024, awarding it the grand prize of US$50,000.

Kenya's Melanin Kapital took second place, winning $10,000, while Guinean fintech YMO came third, earning $5,000.

Daba Finance, a unified investment platform helping individuals and businesses make high-quality investments in Africa, was chosen from 12 finalists.

"Winning this challenge propels our mission to make investing and wealth-building opportunities available for all. With Ecobank as our partner, we are accelerating the journey to making our innovation accessible to millions and bringing financial empowerment to the continent," said Daba Finance CEO Boum Ill Jr.

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

The public was for the first time allowed to vote for their preferred fintech and Togo's MiaPay was given the "Public Choice Award" for this year's edition of the awards.

Ecobank Fintech Fellowship

All the finalists were inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship program.

The program offers startups exposure to investors and industry leaders, access to Ecobank's Banking Sandbox for testing and developing innovative solutions, and the potential to scale their projects across Ecobank's extensive pan-African network.

Kenya's Melanin Kapital took second place, winning $10,000, while Guinean fintech YMO came third, earning $5,000. (Source: Ecobank)

Ecobank Group's CEO, Jeremy Awori, said he believed that the African continent is a hotbed for fintech innovation globally and is constantly pushing the boundaries to enhance convenience and establish digitally enabled capabilities.

"Ecobank's fintech strategy centers on leveraging our borderless pan-African digital platform, to provide cutting edge solutions to fintechs that will benefit millions of Africans. I am particularly proud of what we have achieved with fintechs through our annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge," Awori added.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge comes at a time when other big companies are doing their bit to support African startups.

In August 2024, tech giant Google selected ten African startups to participate in its eighth cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program.

That announcement came three months after the company opened applications for the program.

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— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa