Fintech finalist bid for
Visa Everywhere prize

The regional finals of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) will take place tomorrow (23 July 2024) at 1:30p.m. Gulf Standard Time and will be livestreamed on leading online technology publication TechCrunch. The Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) finalists showcasing their fintech innovations include one from South Africa and one from Nigeria.

From over 1,400 applicants, five fintech finalists from the region have been selected with their innovative payment solutions across fraud and risk, identity and biometrics, digital wallets, open banking, embedded finance, and other key subsectors. The start-ups – representing Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, South Africa, and Nigeria – now stand a chance to progress to the Global Finals at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 28, competing for a grand prize of R1.825M.

Launched in 2015, the Visa Everywhere Initiative enables entrepreneurs to unlock opportunities and build credibility by putting them on the global stage and facilitating access to Visa’s vast network of experts and extensive solutions suite. Since its inception, more than 15,000 start-ups from over 100 countries have applied, going on to raise over R876-billion in collective funding.

In the lead-up to this year’s regional finale, Visa held several subregional events across CEMEA, including the first-ever local Levant edition spanning Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. This year’s CEMEA winners across competitions will share a total prize pool of R6,755,000 to support their work.

Lineshree Moodley, Country Head at Visa, South Africa said: “The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of fintech leaders. This year’s finalists from the CEMEA region have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in addressing some of the most pressing challenges in payments today. It is particularly exciting to see South African startup, Nomanini  among the finalists, underscoring the strength and potential of our local innovators. We are eager to see their continued growth and the positive impact their solutions will have on the global payments landscape.”

The fintech journey with Visa doesn’t end with the competition, living on through key deals and connections. A prime example is Visa’s recent partnership with Nigerian fintech ThriveAgric, a former regional and global VEI winner, in support of their expansion into Kenya, where they will help 10,000 farmers participate in the digital economy. Visa previously collaborated with the innovative start-up to provide smallholder farmers with cards, bank accounts, and access to more seamless disbursements.

2024 CEMEA Finalists

Meet this year’s Visa Everywhere Initiative 2024 finalists, who will go head-to-head for a high-value monetary prize to fund business growth: 

• Jordan-based GamerG is a digital-first online gaming tournament platform. The start-up organizes daily tournaments for monetary rewards, employing skill-based matchmaking technology to connect gamers and level the playing field. It offers convenient digital payment gateways across wallets, cards, and bank transfers.

• Bahrain-headquartered CnpSecure is a turnkey digital provider that fights Card-Not-Present fraud and chargeback risks. The start-up generates dynamic CVV and virtual cards on demand, reducing the risk of CNP fraud by more than 90%. 

• Qatar-based fintech start-up Tess Payments is a Qatar-based smart payments solution. The fintech offers a wide range of accepted payment methods and secure and convenient payment solutions for merchants, enabling them to increase sales and cater to changing customer preferences. 

• South Africa-headquartered Nomanini is a developer of a payment platform designed to connect Africa’s informal and offline retail trade ecosystem to digital financial services. The platform connects merchants and distributors, providing services spanning payment orchestration and acceptance, working capital provision, and merchant analytics.

• Nigeria-based Advantage Health Africa aims to leverage technology to enhance access, affordability, and quality across healthcare in Africa, through integrated pharma solutions. Their approach addresses critical issues in the drug distribution system, such as drug counterfeiting and inconsistent pricing.

Watch the Visa Everywhere Initiative finals live on July 23, 2024, at 11:30 am SAST (9:30 am GMT): https://techcrunch.com/