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Challenge 2024

Win, explore, and expandAs a Fintech innovator, leverage the annual Fintech Challenge to launch your product across Ecobank’s pan-African markets and help make Africa better
Register for next year!
The 2024 challenge is already underway and applications are closed. However, we can notify you to apply next year.
 Application Closed
Empowering African Fintechs to boost Africa's financial growth
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is open to all startups with innovative solutions addressing the needs of the African population and its diaspora. It has been created with two objectives in mind:
Identify and support Fintechs that are ready to scale with resources, funding, partnerships, etc. in Ecobank’s 35 African markets.Leverage these pan-African Fintech success stories and the solutions they offer to improve Africa’s financial integration and economic development.
The Challenge in numbers
5,500+participants from 64 countries in the 6 years of the Challenge
60Fintech start-ups enrolled in the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship
10Mcustomers across 19 countries served by Fintech Fellows
15partnerships that are live or under integration
$9Mraised by Fellows till date
Here’s what you gain
The Challenge is the ideal launchpad for African Fintech innovators and startups to scale up to the next grand level with full support from Ecobank. It brings together a diverse pool of Africa-focused innovations to solve Africa’s financial inclusion pain points.
Multinational product rolloutCommercial partnership and integration opportunities to access and launch products across Ecobank’s 35 African markets
Service provider partnershipsBusiness acceleration and capacity building support along with the opportunity to be a country-level partner in Ecobank’s ecosystem
Access to our pan-African banking SandboxSupport of a dedicated team to carry out Ecobank's API tests and enable better integration of Fintech products in the pan-African market
Well-established partner networkEasy access and relationship building with global and African fintech accelerators, potential investors and mentors through the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship
Competition cash prizes$50,000 no-strings attached cash prize support to the winning company along with more cash prizes to the top three winners
Integration with our existing digital offeringsLaunchpad to leverage our existing products such as Omni, Electronic Financial Supply Chain (eFSC), Xpress, Mobile App, MasterPass™ QR, mVISA™ & mCash, etc.
The Fintech Fellowship opens up a whole new world of benefits, partnerships and support for every finalist of the Challenge.
Know More about Fellowship
Know the journey - from start to finish
01
June 2024Application Launch
02
Early July 2024Application Window Closes
03
Early August 2024Finalists Announcement
04
Mid Sep 2024Innovation Fair & Grand Finale
05
Oct. - Dec. 2024Ecobank Fintech Fellowship
06
Dec. 2024 - May 2025Commercial Partnership
How the 2023 Challenge impacted the winning team
It's an amazing thing to be the winner of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. USD 50,000 means expansion for Koree. It means new markets. It means new hires. It means runway... The prize that Ecobank is giving us, will enable us to actually put things into place and realise big things.Magalie Gauze-SangaFounder of Koree, 2023 Winner
Discover Our Past Winners
Addressing pain points through Challenge
The Challenge encourages participating startups to submit innovative products that address relevant pain points including:
Customer experience
  • Improved customer experience both online and at the branch
  • Digital customised solutions using analytics and AI
  • Efficient customer support, complaint resolution and personalised self-service
  • Defined reporting outcomes to measure value
Financial inclusion
  • Digital customer onboarding (Consumers, SME/Merchant, Investment Banking)
  • Increasing our payment wallet size across our network
Payments
  • Offline mobile to mobile payments (Dead Zones)
  • Increasing our payment wallet size within the African context
Ecosystem aggregration
  • SME/Merchants onboarding and payment integration
  • Niche merchant aggregation through tailored solutions per sector
  • Mobile collections that synchronise with our Xpress point system
Internal tools
  • Digital solutions that improve sales force performance
Credit scoring
  • 360° view on customers' and prospects' financial activities with other FIs
  • Digitisation of the lending journey for SMEs
Digital banking
  • Neo-banking solutions
  • Banking-as-a-Service
  • Savings and micro-investment products
Ready to revolutionize financial service provision in Africa with your solution?
Application Closed
Our past sponsors
Know More
Logo image of Huawei company, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech ChallengeLogo image of Arise company, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech ChallengeLogo image of Proparco Group, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech ChallengeLogo image of Asky Airlines, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech ChallengeLogo image of Jeune Afrique, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech ChallengeLogo image of The Africa Report, a past sponsor of Ecobank Fintech Challenge
Got a question? Get the answer in our FAQs section.
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