Fintech startups can win up to $50k with Visa Everywhere Initiative [Sponsored]

The fintech industry in the Sub-Sahara Africa region is on the brink of a transformative breakthrough and the time is now to tap into the creative and innovative minds of the startup community.

Last month (March 2018) the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) launched in the Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) region and Visa is looking for startups that are developing various local fintech solutions.

The initiative is a global innovation programme that tasks startups to solve commerce challenges of tomorrow and further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visa’s vast network of partners.

Since it first launched in the US in 2015, the programme has reached five continents with a footprint in 40 countries.

To date, nearly 2100 startups across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East have participated in the programme, which awards up to $50,000 (a $25,000 prize and potentially up to $25,000 in pilot funding), plus the potential opportunity to work with Visa.

The local fintech solutions that Visa is looking for from startups have been divided into three challenges, namely:

● Challenge 1: Merchant Payment — How can your startup leverage Visa Developer APIs to either: Enable smaller merchants to accept payments in-store digitally OR Provide a safe and secure solution for online merchants to drive eCommerce and reduce cash on delivery?

● Challenge 2: Social Business Payments — How can your company use Visa’s APIs to leverage mass reach partner platforms like Facebook to help businesses operating in fast-paced consumer-centric environments improve cash flow and receive payments?

● Challenge 3: Financial Inclusion — How can startups leverage technology to provide services that are functional for illiterate customers to provide them with secure transaction experiences that build and enhance their confidence in the banking system?

Interested startups can apply here, and on the online application form applicants are required to select which of the three briefs they are applying for, a brief description of the team, and a description of their idea.

Startups in the Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) region that are interested in submitting their entries have until Thursday, 31 May 2018. Have any questions, comments or feedback? Email veissa@visa.com.

This article was sponsored by Visa.