Business
A total sum of N77.5 million in prize money was won at the end of a keenly contested
hackathon session at the Fourth Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward
4.0: Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity & Growth Imperatives – The Impact of AI “, which
held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
The prize money was shared among ten finalists who emerged from the over 1,700
contestants that took part in the hackathon, with JumpnPass, a self-checkout technology
solution reshaping the retail landscape in Africa emerging as the overall winner and taking
home the grand prize of N25 million. This is in addition to a six-week mentorship and
incubation program designed to help them grow and scale effectively, which will run from
December 2024 to February 2025.
The first runner-up, CreditChek , a credit and verification service provider which leverages
AI and open banking to streamline income and credit history verification for financial
institutions, won N20 million and a mentorship programme, while the second runner-up,
Salad Africa, a start-up which offers seamless integration of credit products for digital
platforms and software companies won N15 million as well as a mentorship programme.
Other finalists who took home N2.5million each include Regxta, CashAfrica, Middleman,
Messenger, Pocketfood, Famasi Africa, Kitovu.
Earlier during the programme, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame
(Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, in her welcome address expressed her appreciation to the
Founder & Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, CFR, for birthing the idea that led to the establishment of
the Tech Fair initiative 5 years ago, she thanked him for his vision and foresight in utilizing
technology to revolutionize the world of business and banking.
Commenting on the Hackathon, she said, “This prestigious annual event was created to
empower and nurture young fertile minds. We hope to produce the likes of Bill Gates, Mark
Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk from the Zenith Bank Hackathons in the nearest
future. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 70% of Nigeria’s population are
youths which is an economic asset when properly harnessed. This is part of the reason why
Zenith Bank is hosting this event to support the development of technology startups. Their
success not only fosters innovation and growth in Nigeria, but it also plays a vital role in
creating employment opportunities for our youth.” She also stressed on the importance of
innovation and embedded finance in ensuring strong and enduring institutions. According to
her, “it is paramount that we adapt and adopt technology to stay ahead of the curve. We
have seen various cases of companies that failed because of their lack of innovation. It is
quite obvious that when companies fail to innovate; they can easily be displaced, so this is
not the time to be orthodox, innovation should be a top priority for us.”
In his goodwill message, The Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Mr. Babajide
Sanwo-Olu called for a global approach to doing business in the country. According to him,
“What we need to do is to be able to enhance our product and services in order to compete
in the world. We can’t continue to act local, we need to think global. Anything that we’re
doing now, we need to be able to know that we are not just serving a local market, we
actually want to serve the global market, and that’s why I’m glad that consistently, for the
past four years, I have kept up with the Zenith Tech Fair. I am sure 5.0 should be bigger and
better than what we have today, but for us as a government, what we need to do is to
continue to use platforms like this to reassure you of our readiness to provide an enabling
environment for your ideas and innovative solutions.”
Described as a huge success by participants, the Fair featured the launch of the bank’s
digital wallet, EazyByZenith, which will help to support the bank’s retail and financial
inclusion strategy. The fair also included presentations on the leading technological
innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence,
Cybersecurity, Risk Management, Compliance, Financial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and
Communication Technologies, with the keynote address, “Banking Transformation in a
Digital World”, delivered by Robin Speculand, a renowned Strategy & Digital
Implementation Specialist.
The event also featured goodwill messages by Jim Ovia, CFR, Founder and Chairman of
Zenith Bank; His Excellency, Hon. Kashim Shettima, GCON, Vice President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (represented by Dr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the Presidency on
Economic Matters). Other eminent IT practitioners from top global brands who also made
presentations include; Robin Speculand, renowned Strategy & Digital Implementation
Specialist; Danilo McGarry, Global Expert on Digital Transformation and AI; Jania
Okwechime, Partner, Africa, AI & Data Leader, Deloitte; Rupert Nicolay, Director, Microsoft
Worldwide Financial Services.
The panel session had Wole Odeyele, Client Technology Lead for Microsoft Inc. as its host,
and featured six discussants including Ada Jabaru, Founder & Director, Nistad Limited;
Funke Opeke, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MainOne; Guy Futi, Chief Executive
Officer, Orda; Dr Auwal Adam Sa’ad, Founder, ZamzamPay; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi,
Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and
Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC).
The Zenith Bank startup pitch competition and incubation program seeks to identify and
fast-track the growth of high-potential Nigerian startups innovating in key sectors, including
Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity, Fintech, HealthTech, Agritech, E-commerce, and more.
The program provides an ideal platform for startups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas
and gain access to invaluable resources to scale their businesses.
Photo Caption: L-R: Founder/Director, Nistad Limited, Ada Jabaru; Director-General/CEO, NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote; Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Tope Fasua; Partner, Africa, AI & Data Leader, Deloitte, Jania Okwechime; Founder & Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR; Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON; Global Expert on AI, Danilo McGarry; Strategy & Digital Implementation Specialist, Robin Speculand; and the Honourable Commissioner for Science, Innovation & Technology, Lagos State, Mr. Olatunbosun Alake during the Zenith Tech Fair 4.0 held at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday.
22nd November, 2024.
C.E.
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