The fourth edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 4.0: Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity & Growth Imperatives – The Impact of AI”, came to a close on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The event was a huge success, with over 1,700 contestants participating in the hackathon session.
The hackathon winners took home a total sum of N77.5 million in cash rewards. JumpnPass, a self-checkout technology solution, emerged as the overall winner, taking home the grand prize of N25 million.
In addition to the cash reward, JumpnPass will also receive a six-week mentorship and incubation program designed to help them grow and scale effectively.
The first runner-up, CreditChek, a credit and verification service provider, won N20 million and a mentorship program.
The second runner-up, Salad Africa, a start-up that offers seamless integration of credit products for digital platforms and software companies, won N15 million and a mentorship program.
Other finalists who took home N2.5 million each include Regxta, CashAfrica, Middleman, Messenger, Pocketfood, Famasi Africa, and Kitovu.
In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, expressed her appreciation to the Founder & Chairman, Dr. Jim Ovia, for birthing the idea that led to the establishment of the Tech Fair initiative five years ago.
She thanked him for his vision and foresight in utilizing technology to revolutionize the world of business and banking.
Commenting on the Hackathon, Umeoji said, “This prestigious annual event was created to empower and nurture young fertile minds.
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.”
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, delivered a goodwill message, calling for a global approach to doing business in the country.
According to him, “What we need to do is to be able to enhance our product and services in order to compete in the world. We can’t continue to act local, we need to think global.”
The event featured presentations on leading technological innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Risk Management, Compliance, Financial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and Communication Technologies.
The keynote address, “Banking Transformation in a Digital World”, was delivered by Robin Speculand, a renowned Strategy & Digital Implementation Specialist.
The Zenith Tech Fair 4.0 also featured the launch of the bank’s digital wallet, EazyByZenith, which will help support the bank’s retail and financial inclusion strategy.
The event also included goodwill messages by Jim Ovia, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank; Kashim Shettima, 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 made presentations include Danilo McGarry, Global Expert on Digital Transformation and AI; Jania Okwechime, Partner, Africa, AI & Data Leader, Deloitte; Rupert Nicolay, Director, Microsoft Worldwide Financial Services.
The panel session was hosted by Wole Odeyele, Client Technology Lead for Microsoft Inc., and featured six discussants, including Ada Jabaru, Founder & Director, Nistad Limited; Funke Opeke, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MainOne;
Guy Futi, Chief Executive Officer, Orda; Dr. Auwal Adam Sa’ad, Founder, ZamzamPay; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Bisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General/Chief Executive Officer, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The Zenith Bank startup pitch competition and incubation program seeks to identify and fast-track the growth of high-potential Nigerian startups innovating in key sectors, including Embedded Finance, Cybersecurity, Fintech, HealthTech, Agritech, E-commerce, and more.
The program provides an ideal platform for startups to showcase their groundbreaking ideas and gain access to invaluable resources to scale their businesses.
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