Ivorian fintech, Daba Finance, was crowned grand winner of the 2024 Ecobank Fintech Challenge Winner, taking home $50,000, Ecobank said.
“Winning this challenge propels our mission to make investing and wealth building opportunities available for all. With Ecobank as our partner, we are accelerating the journey to making our innovation accessible to millions and bringing financial empowerment to the continent,” said BOUM III JR, CEO of Daba Finance.
- Melanin Kapital from Kenya took second place, winning $10,000, and
- Guinean’s fintech YMO secured third place with $5,000.
For the first time, the general public was given the opportunity to vote for their preferred fintech, and MiaPay from Togo won the ‘Public Choice Award’ for this year’s edition.
🇷🇼LIST | Out of 12 Finalists Unveiled for the 2024 Africa Ecobank Fintech Accelerator Challenge, One is a Decentralized Ledger Product from Rwanda
The 2024 finalists were selected from 40 semi-finalists out of more than 1,550 who applied from 70 countries. 556 startups with the… pic.twitter.com/qPQVPlHtHu
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 16, 2024
The winners emerged from 12 finalists who competed to impress a panel of five judges for the $50,000 prize. The judges, comprised of renowned industry experts, evaluated the finalists based on criteria such as:
- Innovation
- Market potential
- Scalability, and
- Team strength
The 12 finalists were carefully selected from a record 1,550 Fintech Challenge 2024 entrants from 70 countries.
All the finalists were enrolled into the prestigious Ecobank Fintech Fellowship programme, which provides them with valuable exposure to investors and industry leaders, access to Ecobank’s Banking Sandbox to test and develop their innovative solutions, with the possibility of scaling across the bank’s large pan-African footprint.
“I am hugely impressed by the quality of the pitch of our twelve finalists, and I want to congratulate Daba Finance for making it to the top of the podium.
I look forward to seeing how our collaboration will help them grow and scale,” said Jeremy Awori, Group CEO of Ecobank.
Besides Ecobank, the competition included a host of judges, sponsors, and partners below:
- Konfidants
- Proparco
- Huawei
- Asky Airlines
- TechCabal
- BlueSpace
- Afrilabs
- Africa Fintech Network
- MEST Africa
- Naija Startups
- Expand in Africa, and
- Founders Africa
Asky Airlines donated round-trip tickets to the winners.
Below were the 12 top finalists in the 2024 Africa Fintech Challenge:
- BuuPass (Kenya) – BuuPass is a platform that digitises inter-city transport and allows users to compare, book, and pay for bus, train, and flight tickets. Founded by Sonia Kabra and Wyclife Omondi
- MiaPay (Togo) – MiaPay enables African merchants to collect digital payments, including mobile money and visa cards, in-store through a single mobile app. Founded by Tav Denkey Jr
- EasyEquities (South Africa) – EasyEquities is a low-cost investment platform. The fintech company lets users buy and sell local or international shares from an app. Founded by Charles Savage
- PaySika (Cameroon) – PaySika is a neo-microfinance bank that enables users to obtain virtual and physical visa cards, which they can load via mobile money or a bank account. Users can also receive salaries, pay bills, and shop internationally via one mobile app. Founded by Roger Ntafam, Khalil Jamai, and Stezen Bisselou-Nzengue
- SawPort Video Banking (Nigeria) – SawPort transforms physical bank branches into virtual branches and enables financial institutions to enhance the banking experience for their customers. Founded by Charlres Oligbo
- Exuus (Rwanda) – SAVE by Exuus helps unbanked Africans manage micro-savings, access micro-loans, and engage in micro-insurance within informal social savings groups. Founded by Shema Steve
- Daba Finance (Côte d’Ivoire) – Daba Finance is a multi-asset investment platform that allows investments in stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, savings products, and Venture Capital. Founded by Boum III JR and Anthony Miclet
- Proboutik (Senegal) – Proboutik is transforming the way informal businesses manage financing by digitising transactions, cash management, debt tracking, and more. Founded by Thierno Sakho and Abdoulaye Faye
- Melanin Kapital Neobank (Kenya) – Melanin Kapital creates financial access for small African businesses through climate action and carbon credits. Founded by Mélanie Keïta and Ian Minjire Kibira
- YMO Africa (Guinea) – YMO Africa is enhancing financial inclusion with its cutting-edge multi-service wallet and unique instant payment system. Founded by Barry Abdoulaye
- VaultPay (Democratic Republic of the Congo) – VaultPay is transforming finance in the DRC with a visa-powered digital wallet
- Sproutly (Nigeria) – Sproutly is financial management tool for African schools which offers invoice creation, payment tracking, loan access, and financial insights. They also provide families with various payment options and tuition credits. Founded by Pierre Nwoke, Maxwell Agu, and Prince Akachi
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