Nigerian FinTech Touch and Pay Bags $50,000 Ecobank FinTech Challenge 2022

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022 winner has been named, according to the Ecobank Group, and is a Nigerian fintech company called Touch and Pay.

The announcement was made at the Grand Finale, which was hosted at the Ecobank headquarters in Lomé and presided over by H.E. Cina Lawson, the Republic of Togo’s Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation. The greatest no-strings-attached fintech cash prize in Africa went to Touch and Pay, who won a cash prize of $50,000.

Congratulating the finalists, Ecobank Group CEO Ade Ayeyemi said: “This year’s six finalists have raised the bar at this Grand Finale. Their inventions are transforming the African financial payments industry and promoting financial inclusion. The Ecobank Group considers it an honor to collaborate with them and jointly change the financial landscape of our continent. Additionally, Mr. Ayeyemi extended Ecobank’s “deep gratitude to all our partners, especially Arise, the gold sponsor of the 2022 Challenge, as well as to the Jury who worked diligently to assess the finalists and choose the winner.”

In Africa, Touch and Pay handles small transactions like bus fare payments. Today, Touch and Pay has over 2 million users and assists 500,000 people daily with financial transactions.

The winner, along with the other five finalists, was also accepted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, a special initiative that offers Fintech Fellows the chance to investigate potential business collaborations with the Bank, such as integrating with Ecobank’s pan-African banking platforms and expanding their fintech ventures across Ecobank’s 33 African markets.

Cauri Money, Senegal DizzitUp, TogoMaishaPay, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Moni Africa, NigeriaPaycode, and South AfricaTouch are the other five contenders for the 2022 edition.

“Arise expresses its congratulations to the finalists and the winner for the ingenuity and innovation they demonstrated,” said Gavin Tipper, CEO of Arise, a gold partner and challenge co-sponsor. The Ecobank Fintech Challenge has grown into a crucial venue for assisting fintech pioneers and fostering audacious ideas to further financial inclusion in Africa. We are eager to see how the various solutions will change financial services on the continent because the talent on offer in this year’s group of finalists once again exceeds expectations.

“We at Touch and Pay (TAP) are pleased about the chance given to us to engage with Ecobank, a pan-African bank operating throughout Africa,” stated Oluwole Michael, CEO of Touch and Pay, expressing his deep joy at winning the Fintech Challenge. This contributes to our goal of providing real credit facilities for businesses, retailers, and consumers while assisting 250 million Africans in processing cash-based transactions digitally, making them truly cashless.

Highlights at the Grand Finale included panel discussions on “Sustaining and deepening investor interest in African Fintech in the face of global economic crisis: what should investors, Fintech companies, and governments do?” and “Ensuring Fintech-friendly regulations that accelerate start-up growth and maturity: what is the best way forward for Africa.” in addition to the pitches by each of the six finalists and a keynote address by H.E. Cina Lawson.