On Thursday, November 20, 2025, Zenith Bank Plc hosted the fifth edition of its flagship technology fair, Future Forward 5.0. Held at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos, the event’s theme, “Tech for Success: Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate,” brought together thousands of developers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to explore the future of technology and its role in business growth.
The Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr Adaora Umeoji, OON, opened the fair by paying tribute to the Founder & Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, CFR, celebrating his “visionary foresight” that led to the creation of the Tech Fair and established Zenith Bank as a pioneer in digital banking. She emphasised the theme, stating the urgency for organisations to integrate technology into strategic planning to thrive in a world being transformed by AI.
“Over the years, Zenith Bank has embraced technological innovations. We understand the transformative power of technology, and have seen the successful international innovators and companies shape the digital age, showing that there are tremendous opportunities in the tech industry.” Umeoji stated.
Dame Umeoji also discussed Zenith’s smart portal innovation, ZenPay, positioned to foster trade payments in Africa.
“Zenith Bank is digital forward. We are developing a smart-after portal to facilitate trade across countries in their own currencies. This portal, after being developed, will be able to facilitate transactions across African countries.”
Meanwhile, Dr Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank, while speaking at the event, reiterated his vision to empower youth through technology, expressing hope that one day Africa would produce global tech giants like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
His Excellency, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State, also delivered a goodwill message, calling for increased technological empowerment initiatives and expressing a vision to make Lagos the world’s hub for human capital in tech talent.
The event also featured global thought leaders, including Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, CEO of M-PESA; Jonas Kjellberg, Co-Creator of Skype; and Shivagami Gugan, Chief Technologist for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at AWS.
The future of technology and money
Championing a keynote session, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit delivered a speech on technology being the future of money. Starting with his story, Lopokoiyit inspired many at the event with his view on the expanse of technology and its advancement in Africa. He noted that in the coming years, Africa would be producing the biggest countries and the top companies in the world.
“By 2050, Africa will have the largest population, and the average age will be 23 years. The population is growing, and that shows the talent there. You need to be in Africa to grow, and our stories must be told. Zenith Bank is an African story, by Africans, for Africa,” Lopokoiyit said during his speech.
His keynote was framed around two powerful, interconnected themes: African narrative ownership and deep customer-centricity in the face of technological advancement.
“The future of money starts with the customer. When we talk about AI, agentic AI, digital tools, and stablecoins, all ties to what the customer wants and what they do. The way in which a customer is accessing information has changed, where they are purchasing has also changed.”
Another key highlight was an interactive panel discussion hosted by CNN Anchor Zain Asher, and featured African top voices, including Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, founding partner at Future Africa, Gary Fowler, CEO and founder of GSD Venture Studios, Adora Nwodo, founder and executive director at NexaScale, Dr Stanley Jacob, the president of the Fintech Association of Nigeria.
The discussions centred around fintech and banking transformation, borderless business expansion in Africa and globally, and the strategic role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including Agentic AI.
The Zenith Hackathon
The fifth edition of Zenith’s Tech Fair featured an expanded, dual-competition structure known as the Zecathon, which included a high-stakes Hackathon for product development and a Startup Pitch Competition for early-stage ventures.
Two major winners emerged, each clinching the top prize of ₦30 million. Trust Loop, for its innovative solution offering seamless digital Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and liveness verification, won the hackathon segment.
Cubbes Technologies, for its revolutionary AI-powered EdTech platform designed to enhance learning and career readiness for university students, won the startup pitch.
The remaining eight (8) finalists across both categories were each awarded ₦10 million in funding. The startups that made the cut are Venille Ltd, Sowota, FLOW, InvoPay, Zenith Intelliscore, The Very Hacked Men, Konfam, and Zerax.
In addition to the cash prizes, all ten finalists will participate in a six-week mentorship and incubation programme running from December 2025 to February 2026, aimed at helping them grow and scale their solutions effectively.
