LOMÉ, TOGO: Eight finalists have been selected from a pool of 1,490 fintechs from 64 countries in and beyond Africa for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2023. The competition, which is in its sixth edition, has received the highest number of applications on record. The Grand Finale will take place on October 6 at the Ecobank Group Pan African Centre in Lome, Togo.
The finalists will be admitted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship Programme, and the overall winner of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge will receive a cash prize of US$50,000. The finalists went through a rigorous process, and we look forward to the pitches of the eight competitors vying for the top prize and ultimately partnering with the Ecobank Group.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is an international competition that seeks to identify and support innovative fintech solutions that can address the financial needs of Africans. The competition is open to fintechs from all over the world, and it provides a platform for them to showcase their solutions to a panel of judges made up of industry experts, investors, and other stakeholders.
Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Awori, who will be hosting the Fintech Challenge final for the first time said: “We are encouraged by the very high number of applications received for the sixth edition of our Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The significant increase in the number of participants reflects the growing impact of our investments in the fintech space, and on our operations and fintech initiatives across Africa. The finalists went through a rigorous process, and we look forward to the pitches of the eight competitors vying for the top prize and ultimately partnering with the Ecobank Group.”
The competition is organized by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a pan-African bank that operates in 33 African countries. The bank is committed to promoting financial inclusion and supporting the growth of the fintech industry in Africa.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge has become a major event in the fintech industry in Africa, and it has helped to promote innovation and collaboration in the sector. The competition has also provided a platform for fintechs to showcase their solutions to potential investors and partners.
Dr. Tomisin Fashina, Ecobank Group Executive, Operations and Technology, congratulated the eight finalists of the 2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge and said, “We are proud to support the development of fintechs to drive digital banking transformation across Africa and beyond. The ever-increasing level of participation – from just 412 applications in 2018 to 1,490 submissions this year – reflects the richness of the untapped innovation and talent that exists across our continent.”
The eight finalists for the 2023 edition of the competition have demonstrated their ability to develop innovative solutions that can address the financial needs of Africans. The Grand Finale promises to be an exciting event, and the organizers are looking forward to seeing the finalists showcase their solutions to the world.
The 2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge finalists in alphabetical order:
- Flexpay Technologies (Kenya) – FlexPay offers customers a merchant-embedded saving-based purchase experience called Save Now, Buy Later.
- IPOXCap AI (South Africa) – FinanceGPT is a financial analysis platform for frontier markets. It processes structured and unstructured financial data to generate actionable insights, using advanced algorithms for financial forecasting, health monitoring, and valuation.
- Kastelo (South Africa) – Provides a democratized solution through diversified products, focusing on transaction, savings, and forex offerings, aimed at banking the underbanked in emerging markets through client-centric solutions.
- Koree (Cameroon) – Koree is a card wallet application that addresses sub-Saharan Francophone Africa spare change scarcity by digitizing cash merchant payments while empowering millions of African consumers through an incentive reward system.
- Kori Tech (Senegal) – Koripass is an E-wallet linked to physical payment accessories such as
bracelets, stickers, and keychains. It enables quick and easy merchant payments
using NFC and QR Code technology. No internet or smartphone is required. - Smart Teller Technologies Limited (Nigeria) – Empowering cooperative digital banking, IT services, and online bill payments for seamless services.
- Rubyx (Belgium and Senegal) – Rubyx enables digital lending solutions for service providers in emerging markets to bridge the financing gap that faces informal entrepreneurs and small businesses to fund their activities.
- Wolf Technologies (Democratic Republic of Congo) – Makuta is a state-of-the-art application that provides a simple, convenient, and secure electronic money transfer and payment experience.
