Wema Bank Unveils ₦120M Grand Prize Pool as 35 Groups Advance to Hackaholics 6.0 Finale

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most modern financial institution and pioneer of Africa’s first totally digital financial institution, ALAT, has introduced a ₦120 million prize pool for the Hackaholics 6.0 Grand Finale. This announcement follows the emergence of 35 groups from regional pitch classes that recorded 1,460 individuals throughout seven cities in Nigeria.

Saying the prize construction, MD/CEO Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, disclosed that the ₦120 million shall be awarded throughout a number of successful classes on the finale. The Ideathon prizes embrace ₦25 million for first place, ₦20 million for the primary runner-up and ₦15 million for the second runner-up. Within the Hackathon class, the primary to fourth-place groups will obtain ₦20 million, ₦15 million, ₦10 million and ₦5 million respectively. As well as, two women-led improvements, one from every vertical, will obtain ₦5 million every in recognition of Wema Bank’s dedication to advancing feminine participation in know-how and innovation.

In line with Moruf Oseni, “Hackaholics continues to reveal the ability of younger individuals to form the way forward for know-how and nation-building. We imagine strongly within the concepts, resilience, and ingenuity of the Nigerian youth, and our funding on this initiative is a transparent testomony of our dedication to giving them the sources, mentorship, and platform they should remodel their concepts into real-world options. As these finalists head to Lagos, we’re assured that their improvements will create significant affect throughout industries and communities, and we’re proud to be a champion for that transformation.”

The 35 finalist groups emerged from a regional pitch cycle that obtained over a thousand purposes throughout eight pitch centres: Ahmadu Bello University (ABU Zaria), Federal College of Know-how Akure (FUTA), Lagos State University (LASU), College of Uyo (UNIUYO), Babcock University, University of Ibadan (UI), Veritas College Abuja and Purple Academy Lagos. Every centre supplied college students with entry to industry-led masterclasses, hands-on mentorship and structured pitch improvement classes, culminating in extremely aggressive displays earlier than skilled judges.

The finalists embrace 17 Ideathon groups, 12 Hackathon groups and 6 women-led groups, every tackling challenges throughout fraud detection, buyer expertise, onboarding, acquisition, credit score administration and different social affect areas. All groups will take part in a three-day pre-finale mentorship and shortlisting programme forward of the Grand Finale in Lagos.

Finalists expressed pleasure about advancing to the Lagos finale and the alternatives forward. The group chief of Veritas’ Hackathon winner, Tensor, Medugu Wali, shared the rationale they’re collaborating within the competitors. “We constructed ‘Pockets Padi’ as a result of we imagine it could actually genuinely enhance how Nigerians handle their cash. Advancing to the pre finale leg of Wema Bank Hackaholics is a giant step towards bringing that imaginative and prescient to life, and we recognize Wema Bank for creating this platform.”

Babcock’s Ideathon winner, Akobundu Present, a participant who had earlier tried the Hackaholics problem in 2023 however didn’t win, expressed nice enthusiasm on the prospect of shifting on to the subsequent stage. Extending his gratitude to Wema Bank, he reminisced on the journey of his Startup, ‘Chao’. In line with him, “Chao began as a small campus food-delivery concept in 2023, and it has grown far past what we imagined. Reaching the Hackaholics finals once more displays how a lot we’ve advanced. We’re grateful to Wema Bank for the chance and excited to compete on the subsequent stage.”

Ogunlana Tosin, founding father of Eutopia.ai, the women-led challenge winner at Veritas College, additionally shared her pleasure after being introduced winner at her Pitch Centre, including “Not making it at Babcock was truthfully painful, however we have been decided to win so we took the suggestions, refined our resolution and returned to strive once more. Advancing past the preliminaries this time confirmed me what’s doable after we don’t quit. I’m really grateful to Wema Bank for this chance and for persevering with to champion girls empowerment, serving to women-led innovation to thrive, and supporting girls via initiatives like SARA,” she stated.

Since its inception in 2019, Hackaholics has grown into one among Nigeria’s most influential youth innovation platforms, attracting greater than 12,000 candidates throughout 15 colleges and disbursing over $300,000 in funding and assist. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, ₦75 million was awarded to women-led groups. With the launch of the Hackaholics Accelerator and Collective Program earlier this yr, Wema Bank now offers ongoing assist to early-stage founders past the competitors cycle.

The Hackaholics 6.0 Grand Finale will carry collectively {industry} leaders, policymakers, traders and know-how specialists in Lagos for stay pitches, product showcases and the disclosing of Nigeria’s subsequent era of transformative founders. For extra info, go to hackaholics.wemabank.com or comply with Wema Bank’s digital platforms.