Ecobank Group has announced the finalists of the 2021 Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

The challenge, in its fourth edition, is designed to help Fintechs with Africa focused products join forces with the leading pan-African Group to provide Africans with groundbreaking financial services. This year’s final saw five finalists selected from various African countries.

The finalists, who emerged from a competitive pool of nearly 900 Fintechs that entered the 2021 Fintech Challenge will participate in a virtual Finale to be held next month.

The 2021 finalists are:

Anadata Limited from Nigeria – developed Chota, an automated Address Verification System that uses Big Data Analysis to accelerate the process while improving accuracy.        

Motito from Ghana  – promotes financial inclusion in Africa through their ‘buy now pay later’ platform which allows small businesses to offer interest-free credit at point of sale.

OKO FINANCE from Mali – offers new-generation index insurance to small holder farmers, that are mobile-based and include access to affordable loans, weather alerts and farming tips.

Fourthline Limited from Kenya – developed Pollen which is designed to be a USSD ecosystem for conducting cross-telecom payments and savings for the unbanked.

Trove Finance, from Nigeria – built software (APIs & Tools) that allows African Individuals and financial Institutions (Banks, Brokers and Fund Managers) access and trade US & Global stocks    

The finalists will pitch their products to a jury which will select the top three most promising products.

The top three finalists will receive cash prizes of US$15,000, US$12,000 and US$10,000 respectively. 

All the finalists will be enrolled into Ecobank’s Fintech Fellowship where they will spend six months exploring partnership opportunities, including:

Multinational Product Roll Out: An opportunity for eligible Fintechs to pursue collaboration with Ecobank and possibly launch products in Ecobank’s 33 African markets.

Service Provider Partnerships: A chance to partner with Ecobank on pan-African products and services roll out and undertake other joint ventures.

Mentoring and Networking Support: Access to networking and mentoring opportunities within the Ecobank Group and its vast network of global and African partners.

Digital Offering integration: An opportunity for Fintechs to potentially integrate with Ecobank’s existing digital offerings.

Tomisin Fashina, Group Executive, Operations & Technology, Ecobank Group, said: “The five finalists in this year’s edition have shown impressive products from a competitive group of nearly 900 applicants.

“I would like to personally congratulate them and express my excitement at the opportunity to work with them to bring their innovative ideas to fruition.”

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is designed in partnership with the advisory firm Konfidants and is supported by partners across Africa and the globe.