Payaza, a leading African fintech company, specialising in payment gateway solutions, has opened registration for the third edition of its annual hackathon. This year’s theme, “AI-Powered Financial Inclusion for MSMEs: Empowering Small Businesses through AI-Driven Financial Solutions,” invites young innovators to develop cutting-edge technology that advances financial inclusion for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Payaza’s hackathon aims to address the challenges MSMEs face and inspire scalable, impactful solutions supporting their growth and financial empowerment. This year, the focus on AI-driven solutions for MSMEs underscores Payaza’s commitment to fostering a generation of innovators prepared to shape the future of financial technology in Africa.

Since its inception, the Payaza Hackathon has evolved to meet Africa’s financial landscape’s unique needs and contribute to the development and mentoring of tech talents through its programme. The inaugural edition centred on enhancing customer satisfaction through financial innovation, while last year’s theme, “Empowering Africa: Leveraging Regenerative AI for a Tailored Financial Journey,” introduced AI-powered fintech solutions. 

Participation requirements

To qualify for the hackathon, participants must meet the following criteria:

• Team Composition: Participants should register as part of a team with 3-5 members. Each team is required to have at least a frontend developer, backend developer, product manager, and AI/machine learning engineer.
• Alignment with Theme: Teams are encouraged to design unique, AI-driven solutions that align with the hackathon’s theme. Proposed solutions should tackle primary challenges that MSMEs face, such as financial barriers hindering their growth and scalability. Solutions should be inclusive, scalable, and impactful.
• Presentation: Teams must create a pitch outlining how their solution addresses MSME challenges and supports financial inclusion. The pitch, along with a presentation document detailing their ideas and product, should be submitted via a provided link. The deadline for submission is the 8th of November, 2024.

Event finale and prizes

Shortlisted teams will be invited to participate in the hackathon finale, where they will compete for cash prizes. This year’s awards include $5,000 for the winning team, $3,000 for the first runner-up, and $1,500 for the second runner-up.

To apply and access further information, visit hackathon.payaza.africa.