By Tosin Olatokunbo
The Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group has restated the importance of using technology to transform banking operations following the challenges thrown up by the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Pan-African bank CEO stated this on the crest of the launch of the 2021 edition of Ecobank Fintech Challenge.
The global impact of COVID-19 has accelerated the dire necessity to digitize and transform banking operations, he said.
According to him “As a banking group, we are convinced now more than ever that innovation and technology are the future of banking and therefore reaffirm our continuous commitment to identify and support Africa’s brightest developers to promote their solutions and help improve our services through the Ecobank Fintech Challenge
The bank said in a statement that the Fintech Challenge is in line with its commitment to championing digitization by giving innovative African start-ups the opportunity to promote their fintech solutions.
The start-ups can potentially partner with Ecobank to scale their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 African markets as well as its international operations in France, the bank said adding that, applications have opened for entries from all start-ups and developers in any of Africa’s 54 countries and global Africa-centered Fintechs.
All selected Finalists will be inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship following the Finals and Awards ceremony slated for November 2021. The selected top three winners will receive cash prizes worth $15,000, $12,000 and $10,000 respectively.
All Fellows will however qualify to explore the following opportunities with the bank: Multinational product roll out: an opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch products in parts of Ecobank’s Pan African 33-country ecosystem.
Tomisin Fashina, Operations and Technology Executive, Ecobank Group said what the bank is trying to do is to draw from the pool of tech talents in the continent and mentor them.
He said “We are firm believers that Africa’s talent pool is enormous and requires specialized and targeted mentorships to fully crystallize and ready Fintech startups for business engagements.
“Through the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, we are creating a learning experience through mentorship sessions with in-house, high-level technical teams and with our global partners to help shape and reshape the strategy and focus of African Fintechs”.
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge was designed in partnership with the advisory firm Konfidants and is supported by several partners across Africa and globally including ACCION, Catalyst Fund, Nedbank VC and Cellulant.
