Ecobank Group has said that that Touch and Pay, a Nigeria -based fintech, has won the 2022 edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. This announcement was made at the Grand Final, today at the Ecobank headquarters in Lomé, chaired by HE Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation of the Republic of Togo. Touch and Pay took home a cash prize of $50,000, the largest fintech cash prize with no strings attached in Africa. Touch and Pay processes micro-transactions in Africa, such as paying for bus rides. Today, Touch and Pay has more than 2 million users helping 500,000 people make payments every day. The winner and five other finalists were also inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, a unique program that provides Fintech Fellows with the opportunity to explore potential business partnerships with the Bank, such as integrating with Ecobank’s pan-African banking platforms and expanding its fintech business. The other five finalists for the 2022 edition are: Cauri Money, Senegal DizzitUp, Togo MaishaPay, Democratic Republic of the Congo Moni Africa, Nigeria Paycode, South Africa Touch and Pay, Nigeria Ade Ayeyemi, CEO, Ecobank Group, congratulating the finalists , said: “This year’s six finalists have set the bar very high in this Grand Final.
Its innovations are revolutionising the financial payments landscape in Africa and fostering financial inclusion. It is an honour for the Ecobank Group to partner with them and together transform the financial landscape of our continent.” Ayeyemi also expressed Ecobank’s “deep gratitude to all of our partners, especially Arise, the gold sponsor of the 2022 Challenge, as well as the jury who worked tirelessly to evaluate the finalists and select the winner.” Gavin Tipper, CEO of Arise, Gold Partner and co-sponsor of the challenge, said: “Arise extends its congratulations to the finalists and winner for the creativity and innovation they displayed. The Ecobank Fintech Challenge has become an important platform to support fintech innovators and encourage bold solutions to promote financial inclusion in Africa. The talent on offer in this year’s pool of finalists once again exceeded expectations, and we look forward to seeing how the different products transform financial services on the continent.” Oluwole Michael, CEO of Touch and Pay, expressing his deep satisfaction at winning the Fintech Challenge, commented: “We at Touch and pay (TAP) are excited about the opportunity to work with Ecobank, a pan-African bank operating in all of Africa.
This connects with our vision to help 250 million Africans digitally process cash transactions, making them truly cashless and providing true credit facilities for merchants, retailers and customers.” In addition to the presentation of each of the six finalists and a keynote speech by HE Cina Lawson, highlights of the Grand Final included panel discussions on ‘Maintaining and deepening investor interest in African Fintech in the face of the global economic crisis : what should investors do, what are fintech companies and governments doing? and ‘Ensuring fintech-friendly regulations that accelerate the growth and maturity of start-ups: what is the best way forward for Africa’. Nearly 4,000 startups have participated in the five editions of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge since its launch in 2017. Since then, 52 Fintechs have been included in the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship. The 2022 Challenge was supported by partners such as Arise, Konfidants, Tech Cabal, Africa Fintech Network, and ALX Ventures.
