Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024 for Startups ($50,000 cash prize) Deadline: 7 July, 2024

Applications are open for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024. The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is a Pan-African innovation competition powered by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. It is designed to identify, support and partner impressive African Fintechs to grow and scale their Fintech innovations across the African continent and globally.

Solutions submitted to the Challenge must address at least one of the following pain points:

• Customer experience
  • Improvement of customer experience both online and at physical branches
  • Digital solutions using analytics/customer insights and AI to offer tailored adverts
  • Acceleration of resolution process
  • Digitization of customer journey
• Credit Scoring
  • Provision of credit
  • KYC
  • Digitization of credit history evaluation
  • Credit utilization ratio evaluation
• Financial Inclusion
  • Digital customer onboarding (Consumers, SME/Merchant, Investment Banking)
  • Seamless access to Ecobank services for non-smartphone users
  • Affordability of financial services to the unbanked and underbanked
• Ecosystem Aggregation
  • SME/Merchants onboarding and payment integration
  • Niche merchant aggregation through tailored solutions per sector
  • Facilitate mobile collections for merchants that enable synchronization and consolidation with Ecobank’s Xpress point system
• Internal tools
  • Digital solutions that improve sales performance
  • Agency banking solutions that broaden our scope of services
  • Risk management, cheque fraud prevention, and cybersecurity strategies
• Payments
  • Offline mobile-to-mobile payments (Dead Zones)
  • Increasing payment wallet size within the African context
  • Automate nearly every payables process
• Digital Banking
  • Neo-banking
  • Banking-as-a-Service
  • Savings and micro-investment

Benefits

Applicants become finalists, get inducted as Ecobank Fintech Fellows, and stand a chance to explore the following opportunities:

• Competition Cash prizes: The ultimate winner will be awarded a cash prize of $50,000.
• Scale Across Borders: Opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch your product in Ecobank’s 35 markets across Africa.
• Ecobank Affiliates Partnerships: Finalists with impressive products may be selected as country-level partners to local Ecobank affiliates within Ecobank’s 35-country footprint.
• Access to Ecobank’s Pan-African Banking Sandbox: Fellows will be given access to a dedicated team to support on Ecobank’s API tests to enable them to improve their products for the pan-African market and globally.
• Mentoring and networking support: All Finalists will be inducted as Ecobank Fintech Fellows, granting them access and relationships to a vast network of global and African accelerators, potential Investors, mentors, and the Ecobank non-bank clients’ ecosystem for potential partnerships.
• Integration With Existing Ecobank Digital Offerings: The Challenge offers opportunities for Fintechs to potentially integrate with Ecobank’s existing digital offerings.

Eligibility

• All Fintechs with relevant financial products for Africa are eligible to apply to the Ecobank Fintech Challenge.
• You can enter more than one fintech product in the competition. However, each product you apply with must be distinct. You should not submit two products in one application form. Each of your products must be entered as a separate application.
• You can participate in the Challenge if your fintech is not based in Africa. However, you must have an Africa-focused financial product.

Deadline: 7 July, 2024

Application

Applications can be submitted in either English or French. To be considered for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge you must meet the eligibility criteria and submit a completed application.

Click here to apply

For more information, see FAQ and visit Ecobank Fintech Challenge.