12 companies will compete in Mauritius on 18 May and get the chance to take their innovative solutions to the next level
Brussels, 3 May 2016 – Working in close collaboration with Innotribe, over one hundred judges from across the financial, technology, and investment communities evaluated the 89 applications received for the second edition of the Startup Challenge in Africa (compared to the 49 applications received in 2015). The judges assessed the startups’ ability to provide an important innovation in the future of the financial industry and ultimately narrowed the selection process to this year’s 12 semi-finalists:
|
Company |
Country |
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Alternative Circle has created a app based marketplace to enable Financial Institutions to lend capital directly to end users without the need to build their own systems |
Kenya |
|
AMoney enables cross border payments and unifying mobile wallets using blockchain |
Cameroon |
|
BitPesa is Africa’s fastest and most affordable bitcoin trading platform |
Kenya |
|
CashMadam is a mobile sales, and Inventory Management system combined with advanced analytics to help SMEs |
Nigeria |
|
GeoPay is a mobile application that lets people transfer money cross-border instantly |
South Africa |
|
Hello Paisa is a low cost international money transfer solution for remittances |
South Africa |
|
Ranis Capital is a marketplace to leverage customer invoices to provide low cost short term financing |
Kenya |
|
Stock Shop builds white label & bespoke financial products targeting millennials, levering emotional algorithms and artificial intelligence |
South Africa |
|
The Money School provides affordable, scalable financial education solutions for financial institutions to attract and retain customers whilst adding a new revenue line to their business. |
South Africa |
|
The Sun Exchange is a peer-to-peer lending platform for investors to fund solar energy projects across the globe |
South Africa |
|
WeCashUp has created a cross border mobile money platform, enabling users to make secure payments via their mobile phones all across Africa |
Cameroon |
|
Yo Uganda builds solutions that leverage existing mobile services to enable payments to be made through Point of Sales devices, mobile applications or online |
Uganda |
These companies will now pitch their new products in Mauritius on 18 May, during the Swift African Regional Conference. The event attracts up to 500 high-level delegates from more than 40 countries and is a unique platform for discussion, debate, and high-level networking for the African financial community. It also represents a great opportunity for the local startups to meet face to face with potential investors, partners and customers.
“For the second consecutive year, we are thrilled with the number and calibre of the African startups applying to our programme.” says Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities Markets, Innotribe and the Swift Institute at Swift. “The Startup Challenge is an enriching experience for every company participating as they benefit from expert mentoring and get that much needed exposure to financial institutions. We are excited to start this year’s journey and look forward to seeing the startups pitch their innovative products with determination in Mauritius.”
As a part of the programme, each semi-finalist will also receive complimentary coaching sessions with seasoned entrepreneurs who will give them sound advice ahead of the formal pitches taking place on 18 May.
During the showcase, the audience will vote for the three best startups who will be invited to Sibos, Swift’s annual global financial services conference, taking place from 26-29 September in Geneva. The three finalists will have the opportunity to share the stage with FinTech experts, providing great insights on innovation happening on the ground in Africa to the financial industry at large. They will also receive a 10,000 USD cash prize each.
For more information about Innotribe and the Startup Challenge, please visit: www.innotribe.com.
About Innotribe
Launched in 2009, Swift Innotribe is about innovation and connecting people, networks and ideas. We bring together global innovators and investors, strategists, and influential decision-makers from leading financial institutions across the globe, providing them early insights into innovations that could disrupt current business models and create opportunities for new ones. Through the Startup Challenge competition, we bridge the gap between the startup ecosystem and the financial service community.
For more information, please visit www.innotribe.com or follow us on Twitter: @innotribe and Linkedin: Innotribe.
About Swift
Swift is a global member-owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services.
We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and financial crime compliance.
Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories, enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised financial messages in a reliable way. As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies.
Headquartered in Belgium, Swift’s international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. Swift’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.
For more information, visit www.swift.com or follow us on Twitter: @swiftcommunity and LinkedIn: Swift
Contacts:
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