Startups win big at Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2023
By Kingsley Odii
The highly anticipated Third Edition of the Zenith Bank Tech Fair, under the theme “Future Forward 3.0,” was concluded on November 24, 2023. Held at the prestigious Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, the event showcased the creativity and talent of aspiring tech entrepreneurs.
One of the highlights of the fair was the Zenith Hackathon (Zecathon), where over 500 contestants competed for the top prize. Sync, a cutting-edge team collaboration and workflow management platform, emerged victorious as the overall winner. Sync impressed the judges with its comprehensive features, including project management, task planning, messaging, payments, scheduling, and people operations. As the grand prize winner, Sync received a staggering sum of N20 million and a mentorship program with Seedstars, a renowned company dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
The first runner-up, Skill Up With Kahdsole (SUWK), a socially-minded startup focused on empowering young individuals through technical and vocational skill development, was awarded N15 million and a mentorship program with Seedstars. The second runner-up, Tribapay, a cutting-edge payment processing gateway facilitating cross-border payments and transactions in Nigeria and Ghana, claimed a well-deserved prize of N10 million and a mentorship program with Seedstars.
In addition to the top three winners, several other outstanding finalists were recognized for their innovative solutions. Each of the following startups received N2 million: Edupoint, Joovlin, Frootify, Izesan Limited, Natal Cares, Plychain.io, and Niteon. These startups demonstrated exceptional potential and were commended for their contributions to advancing technology.
The Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, expressed his excitement for the Hackathon, emphasizing its significance as the pinnacle of the event. Dr. Onyeagwu noted that the Hackathon allowed the youth to showcase their immense creativity and talent, presenting unique and innovative ideas.
“The good thing about the Hackathon is that the pitches you see presented are completely different from the ones we have seen before and we intend to make it far more elaborate as we hope that as we go into the future, we should be able to bring back winners where they can tell the audience their journey and how they have progressed so far,” he added.
The two-day Tech Fair covered diverse technological innovations in various aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Contactless Payments, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, FinTech, Data Analytics, Financial Intelligence, and communication technologies.
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