At the just concluded 2018 Zambezi Prize held in Nairobi, Kenya, three startups from the financial tech landscape in Africa were awarded financial rewards due to challenges they are solving within the space.
The Zambezi Prize is a $200,000 prize that was established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Legatum Centre in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to unearth, inspire and celebrate ten top startups solving Africa’s biggest financial inclusion challenges.
South Africa's Wala got the highest recognition, earning a prize of $100,000. Wala is a zero-fee money app that allows users to send money to friends and families anywhere instantly for free.
RecyclePoints from Nigeria and Tulaa of Kenya were both runner-ups, earning $30,000 prize each. The remaining seven finalists all got $5,000 each.
The Zambezi Prize is the nominating partner of the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (MIT IIC). Because of that, the top 3 winners will be fast-tracked to the MIT IIC $1 million prize and also get to attend the IIC Global Celebration in Boston.