Tech

Ivory Coast’s Daba Finance named winner of $50k Ecobank Fintech Challenge

Ivorian startup Daba Finance has been named winner of this year’s Ecobank Fintech Challenge, taking home US$50,000 in prize money.

Ecobank is a leading independent pan-African banking group that serves over 32 million customers in the consumer, commercial and corporate banking sectors across 35 African countries. 

Its annual Fintech Challenge offers early-stage and mature startups the potential to partner with Ecobank across those 33 countries, and is now in its seventh year. Twelve innovative fintech startups competed to impress the esteemed panel of five judges for the US$50,000 prize

After fierce competition, Daba Finance won the top prize for its solution to make investing accessible to everyone by offering a one-stop investment platform for trading stocks, bonds, and other financial products.

The judges also rewarded two additional fintechs whose solutions made a lasting impression. Melanin Kapital from Kenya took second place, winning US$10,000, and Guinean fintech YMO secured third place, and US$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.