Winners have emerged at the keenly contested hackathon session at the Fourth Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair with a total sum of N77.5 million in prize money won.

The Zenith Tech Fair with the theme: “Future Forward 4.0: Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity & Growth Imperatives – The Impact of AI “, was held yesterday 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.

JumpnPass, a self-checkout technology solution reshaping the retail landscape in Africa emerged as the overall winner taking home the grand prize of N25 million.

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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.

The Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, said the hackathon was created to empower and nurture young fertile minds.

She expressed her appreciation to the Founder & Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, for birthing the idea that led to the establishment of the Tech Fair initiative 5 years ago.

“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. “

The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu called for a global approach to doing business in the country.

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; DaniloMcGarry, Global Expert on Digital Transformation and AI; Jania Okwechime, Partner, Africa, AI & Data Leader, Deloitte; Rupert Nicolay, Director, Microsoft Worldwide Financial Services.