Connect with us

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website. .

Top Stories

MIT Legatum Center and Mastercard Foundation Select 10 African Startups as Finalists of the 2018 Zambezi Prize for Innovation in Financial Inclusion
MIT Legatum Center and Mastercard Foundation Select 10 African Startups as Finalists of the 2018 Zambezi Prize for Innovation in Financial Inclusion

Published : , on

Grand Prize Winner and Runners-Up will be announced during the Open Mic Africa Summit in Nairobi on August 29th, 2018

The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship (http://Legatum.MIT.edu/) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation(http://MastercardFdn.org/), today announced the finalists of the 2018 edition of the Zambezi Prize(http://Zambezi.MIT.edu/) for Innovation in Financial Inclusion.

The prestigious competition, awarding a total of $200,000 in prizes, was established in 2015 to discover Africa’s most promising and innovative early-stage start-ups that promote and advance financial inclusion on the continent.

The selected companies are Apollo Agriculture (Kenya)(https://ApolloAgriculture.com/), Bidhaa Sasa (Kenya)(www.Bidhaa.co.ke/), FarmDrive (Kenya)(https://FarmdDrive.co.ke/), Farmerline (Ghana), LanteOTC (South Africa)(https://LanteOTC.com/), MaTontine (Senegal) (ControlRisks.com), OZE (Ghana)(www.OZE.guru/), RecyclePoints (Nigeria)(www.RecyclePoints.com/), Tulaa (Kenya)( www.Tulaa.io), and Wala (South Africa) (https://getWala.com/).

“We are pleased to welcome the 2018 finalists into the MIT Zambezi family”, said Georgina Campbell Flatter, the Executive Director of the MIT Legatum Center. “They represent some of the world’s most innovative change agents.”

“The finalists demonstrated strong leadership and innovation in the way they are solving financial inclusion challenges”, said Ali Diallo, the Global Programs Manager of the MIT Legatum Center. “We also want to thank the hundreds of great startups that applied to this competition and shared with us their inspiring ventures, visions, and insights for advancing financial inclusion. We hope to keep them all engaged through our upcoming initiatives”.

The finalists will join leaders from the MIT and African tech ecosystems on August 28th and 29th at the 2018 MIT Open Mic Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. The two-day event will include a VIP reception followed by the award ceremony at Strathmore University where the Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $100,000. Two runners-up will each receive $30,000 while the seven remaining finalists will each receive $5,000 in cash prizes. Additionally, the Legatum Center will award $5,000 to an African entrepreneur who demonstrated great leadership qualities to unify Africa’s tech ecosystem. All finalists will participate in cohort-building and mentoring activities with MIT leaders and Zambezi alumni companies during the event.

The winners will be invited to attend the Zambezi boot camp during the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) (www.MITInclusiveInnovation.com) gala on the MIT campus in Boston on November 5th-9th, 2018. They also will be fast-tracked to the IIC global grand prize with up to $1 million available in funding for the winner. The IIC event is part of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy(http://ide.mit.edu/) and, along with the MIT Legatum Center’s initiatives, exemplifies MIT’s global commitment to the future of work(https://goo.gl/t6QRFb).

Past Zambezi finalists have included Kifiya(www.Kifiya.com/), PlusPeople(www.PlusPeople.co.ke/MFS Africa(http://MFSAfrica.com/), Tugende(www.goTugende.com/Chamasoft(https://Chamasoft.com/), Nomanini(www.Nomanini.com/),FirstAccess(www.Firstaccess.co/),AgriLife,MChanga(http://Changa.co.k)and mJara(www.Mjara.com/en/index.html). The Grand Prize Winner, Umati Capital(https://UmatiCapital.com/) received funding from Accion Venture Lab, Blue Haven Initiative, and Lundin Foundation.

The Zambezi Prize and the Open Mic Africa tour are pillars of the Legatum Center’s Africa Strategy – a global vision to leverage MIT’s ecosystem to improve lives through principled entrepreneurial leadership. The Legatum Center’s Africa strategy is also a core component of the MIT-Africa(https://Africa.MIT.edu/) initiative which encompasses the Institute’s global priority (https://goo.gl/uoKHDd) for collaboration with the continent.

For more information on the Zambezi Prize and on the 2018 Open Mic Africa Summit in Nairobi, visit www.Zambezi.MIT.edu/ or contact the MIT Legatum Center at [email protected].

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship.

Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.

Global Banking & Finance Review

 

Why waste money on news and opinions when you can access them for free?

Take advantage of our newsletter subscription and stay informed on the go!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Recent Post