Ecobank (www.Ecobank.com), the pan-African Bank, has announced the top finalists for the first-ever and inaugural 2024 Ecobank Fintech Challenge Hybrid Semi-Final event held at the Ecobank Pan-African Centre in Lagos, Nigeria. The finalists were selected from a cohort of 40 highly competitive Fintechs that made it to the semi-final stage of the competition. This year’s challenge attracted over 1,550 applications from 70 countries in Africa and other global regions.
The finalists will showcase their innovative solutions at the Ecobank Fintech Challenge Grand Finale, scheduled for 27 September 2024, at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Lomé, Togo. The event will be streamed live on Ecobank Group’s social media channels, allowing a global audience to participate. Finalists of the challenge will compete for the US$50,000 ultimate prize during this highly anticipated event.
Speaking at the Semi-Final, Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, remarked, “The finalists in this year’s Ecobank Fintech Challenge have showcased exceptional talent and innovation, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Finale. 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”.
Showcasing the future of African fintech, here are the exceptional finalists of the 2024 Ecobank Fintech Challenge:
BuuPass, Kenya
Daba Finance, Ivory Coast
EasyEquities, South Africa
Exuus, Rwanda
Melanin Kapital Neobank, Kenya
MiaPay, Togo
PaySika, Cameroon
PROBOUTIK, Senegal
Sawport Video Banking as a Virtual Branch, Nigeria
Sproutly, Nigeria
Vaultpay, Democratic Republic of the Congo
YMO Africa, Guinea
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge, a flagship initiative of the Ecobank Group, organized for seven consecutive years, continues to serve as a premier continental platform for promoting innovation and collaboration between Fintechs and the pan-African Bank’s cross-border markets spanning 35 countries. The challenge remains a significant event, attracting key players within the fintech ecosystem and beyond. It provides a unique opportunity for fintech entrepreneurs to address challenges such as reaching scale, navigating an uncertain regulatory environment, and managing scarcity of funding. In addition to financial rewards, the challenge offers Ecobank’s expertise in diversified market operations and the right solutions to scale across its pan-African footprint and international presence.
Since its inception, 60 fintech startups have been inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is designed in partnership with international advisory firm Konfidants and is supported by various partners including Huawei, Proparco, TechCabal, BlueSpace, Afrilabs, Africa Fintech Network, MEST Africa, Naija Startups, Expand In Africa and Founders Africa.
This year’s Grand Finale will bring together fintechs, regulators, investors, financial institutions, global technology companies, tech hubs, entrepreneurs, and industry experts.
Ecobank invites all key stakeholders within the Fintech ecosystem, and members of the general public to register for the Grand Finale via this link: https://apo-opa.co/4cndn5H.
Streaming platforms:
YouTube: Ecobank Fintech Challenge & Ecobank Group
Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/3WO7Q21
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
About Ecobank Group (or ‘Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’ or ‘ETI’):
Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African banking group with unrivaled African expertise. Present in 35 sub-Saharan African countries, as well as France, the UK, UAE and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade, and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers Consumer, Commercial, Corporate, and Investment Banking products, services, and solutions across multiple channels, including digital, to over 32 million customers. For further information, please visit www.Ecobank.com.
