CBK Announces The Hackathon 2020 Winners

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced the winners of the Virtual African Hackathon 2020 (the Hackathon). The top three winners were selected following a rigorous evaluation process that saw 15 shortlisted finalists pitch their solutions to an experienced panel of judges on Demo Day, 31 August 2020.

CBK and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) co-hosted the Hackathon challenging FinTechs to innovate and showcase their solutions aimed at addressing the negative impacts of COVID-19 globally. The designated theme was Harnessing FinTech in addressing COVID-19 effects on healthcare, digital payments and economic recovery.

The winner was SME Credit Pro from Cameroon, with Miza A2F Platform, UAE and Tunisia taking second place, and MobiCash from Libya rounding it off in third place. Kenya missed out on the top three despite fronting several entries. How the Hackathon worked is, the contestants would come in with a five-minute demo video, at which point they would face a panel of judges who would step in and ask questions, after which the judges would then deliberate. 

The overall winner of the Hackathon, SME Credit Pro from Cameroon will participate in the Global Fintech Hackcelerntor at the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), scheduled for December 2020. The SFF, the world’s largest fintech event, is convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). All 15 finalists will get to benefit from training, mentorship arid collaboration opportunities from some of the Hackathon’s partners.

CBK announced the shortlisting of 15 finalists from 7 African countries for the Virtual Africa Hackathon 2020 (the Hackathon). The finalists were drawn from 74 submissions from 14 countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The Hackathon was envisioned to keep alive the spirit of the 2020 Afro-Asia Fintech Festival (AAFF) that was scheduled to be held in Nairobi in July 2020 following its postponement to July 2021.

It was launched on July 31, 2020, inviting applicants to provide solutions to 40 identified problems in the Healthcare, Digital Payments, Economic Recovery and General categories. These problems aptly related to the challenges and opportunities posed by the health and economic dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hackathon witnessed an impressive array of innovative solutions in Healthcare, Digital Payments, Economic Recovery and General categories. The solutions presented targeted the health and economic dimensions of the pandemic. This included financing of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), cash transfers to vulnerable groups, enhancing agriculture value chains and COVlD- l9 contact-tracing.

These solutions when scaled up will play an important role, not only in the context of the pandemic but also in contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The pandemic has been a setback in the implementation of the SDGs, particularly in health and education. Innovation will be critical when it comes to regaining lost ground.