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2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge

Deadline: 21-Jul-23

Applications are now open for the 2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge to identifie and partner Fintechs that are ready to scale and provides them with support and access to opportunities in Ecobank’s 35 African markets.

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. The fundamental value offerings of the challenge are market access, visibility and cash prizes.

Funding Information

  • The selected finalists participate in the Ecobank Fintech Challenge Grand Finale. The ultimate winner for 2023 will be awarded a cash prize of $50,000. All finalists are inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, which affords them the opportunity to explore deals, integration and commercial partnership with the Ecobank Group.

What’s in it for you: Benefits and Opportunities

  • Become a finalist; get inducted as an Ecobank Fintech Fellow and stand a chance to explore the following opportunities:
    • Multinational product rollout
      • A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch products in Ecobank’s over 30 markets across Africa.
    • Competition Cash prize
      • The winner of the Challenge will be awarded a $50,000 no-strings-attached cash prize.
    • Service provider partnerships
      • Start-ups may be selected by Ecobank as local country-level partner in any of Ecobank’s 33 country ecosystem.
    • Access to Ecobank’s Pan-African Banking Sandbox
      • Fellows will be given access to a dedicated team to support Ecobank’s API tests, to enable Ecobank improve their products for the pan-African market.
    • Access to Partner Network
      • Founders will be inducted as Ecobank Fintech Fellows, granting them access and relationships to a vast network of global and African Accelerators, potential Investors, as well as mentors.
    • Integration with existing Ecobank digital offerings
      • The Challenge offers opportunities for Fintechs to potentially integrate with Ecobank’s existing digital offerings. The existing digital offerings include Ecobank Omni, Ecobank electronic financial supply chain(eFSC), Ecobank Xpress, Ecobank Mobile APP or USSD, MasterPass™ QR, mVISA™ & mCash, etc. They’d like applicants to pitch us how their solutions can add value to these existing Ecobank digital offerings.

What kinds of solutions are eligible for the Challenge?

  • 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
    • 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 our Xpress point system
    • Financial Inclusion
      • Digital customer onboarding (Consumers, SME/Merchant, Investment Banking)
      • Seamless access to Ecobank services for non-smart phone 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 our Xpress point system
    • Internal tools
      • Digital solutions which improve sales force performance
      • Digital solutions which 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 our payment wallet size within the African context
      • Automate nearly every payables process
      • Any other relevant product categories

Eligibility Criteria

  • The Challenge is open to all Fintechs on the African continent.

For more information, visit 2023 Ecobank Fintech Challenge Program.