12 finalists emerge in Ecobank fintech challenge

The 2024 Ecobank Fintech Challenge has produced 12 finalists, including Sawport Video Banking, and Sproutly Africa that Nigerian firms.

The finalists were announced at the first semifinal event, which was held on Wednesday at the Ecobank Pan African Centre, Lagos, by the Director/Regional Executive of Ecobank Nigeria, Bolaji Lawal, and the Executive Director/Chief Risk Officer, Niyi Olagbami.

Other finalists include; Buupass (Kenya), MiaPay (Togo), EasyEquities (South Africa), PaySika (Cameroon), Exuus (Rwanda), Daba Finance (Cote D’Ivoire), PROBOUTIK (Senegal), Melanin Kapital Neobank (Kenya), YMO Africa (Guinea) and VaultPay (Democratic Republic of Congo).

The Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori, 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 are committed to collaborating with these business builders to develop products and services that will benefit our customers and contribute to our continent’s progress.”

The Group Head of Payments Service, Cash Management & Client Access, Ecobank Group, Isaac Kamuta, highlighted why the banking group has been organising the challenge.

He said, “This challenge is more than just a competition. It is an African initiative designed to identify, nurture, support, and collaborate with innovative businesses that want to scale across Africa. Ecobank is proud to provide comprehensive support, which includes potential or commercial partnerships, which I think is important for any fintech or entrepreneur who has started a business, opportunities for technical integration with our platforms, and market access across our 35 African markets.

“And I must say that is an important consideration because nobody builds a business and you want it to remain in one country. You all want to build a business that has scale across Africa and scales across globally.”

The Senior Fintech Advisor, Ecobank Group, Djiba Diallo, reassured the semi-finalists across the continent that the bank was still open to collaborating with them.

The finalists will compete in the grand finale scheduled to be held in Lome, Togo, in September for a $50,000 prize and a spot in the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship programme.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge started in 2017 and this year’s edition received over 1550 applications from 70 countries, including from outside Africa.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge, designed in partnership with international advisory firm Konfidants, is supported by a range of partners, including Huawei, Proparco, TechCabal, BlueSpace, Afrilabs, Africa Fintech Network, MEST Africa, Naija Startups, Expand in Africa, and Founders Africa.