The competition, which seeks to foster innovation and partnership within the African financial landscape, attracted over 1,550 applications from 70 countries.
Forty startups initially made it to the semi-finals, with twelve ultimately selected to compete in the grand finale scheduled for September 27 in Lomé, Togo.
The event will be live-streamed on Ecobank’s social media platforms for a global audience.
Two Kenyan startups, BuuPass and Melanin Kapital Neobank, are among the finalists, alongside Nigeria’s Sawport Video Banking as a Virtual Branch and Sproutly.
The rest of the finalists are Daba Finance (Ivory Coast), EasyEquities (South Africa), Exuus (Rwanda), MiaPay (Togo), PaySika (Cameroon), PROBOUTIK (Senegal), Vaultpay (DRC) and YMO Africa (Guinea).
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge offers startups the opportunity to partner with the bank and scale their solutions across its network of 35 African countries.
The ultimate winner will receive the US$50,000 cash prize and the chance to collaborate with Ecobank.
“We are delighted to partner with ISA to support the development of solar energy in Africa,” said Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50. “This partnership will help to accelerate the deployment of solar energy in Africa and improve the lives of millions of Africans,” he added.
The African Development Bank Group has announced a $75 million financing package to support Export Trading Group (ETG), a Mauritius-based conglomerate with extensive operations throughout Africa.
South African AI-powered customer service platform Cue has raised $2 million in seed funding from angel investors.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both part of the World Bank Group, have joined forces with Morocco’s Tanger Med Port Complex in a significant expansion project for its truck and passenger terminal.
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