Tech: South Africa’s Wala, Nigeria's RecyclePoints and Kenya's Tulaa win $160,000 in 2018 Zambezi Prize for innovation

Wala won the $100,000 grand prize winner while Tulaa (Kenya) and RecyclePoints (Nigeria) each won $30,000 as runners-up.

South Africa’s Wala, Nigeria's RecyclePoints and Kenya's Tulaa have emerged top three winners in the 2018 Zambezi Prize for innovation in financial inclusion.

The award was organised by the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with support from the Mastercard Foundation.

Georgina Campbell Flatter, the Executive Director of the MIT Legatum Center, said, “Innovators like Wala and the other Zambezi finalists are vital to driving a more inclusive prosperity.”

“We’re excited to work with them.”

South African cryto startup Wala emerged as overall winner while Kenyan startup, Tulaa and Nigerian startup, RecyclePoints came runners-up in the $200,000 Prize Competition.

Wala was chosen from among 10 finalists for the Zambezi Prize. The startup won the $100,000 grand prize winner. Tulaa (Kenya) and RecyclePoints (Nigeria) each won $30,000 as runners-up.

The seven remaining finalists Apollo Agriculture(Kenya), Bidhaa Sasa (Kenya), FarmDrive (Kenya), Farmerline (Ghana), LanteOTC (South Africa), MaTontine (Senegal), and OZÉ (Ghana), won $5,000 each.

 

Ann Miles, Director of Thought Leadership and Innovation at the Mastercard Foundation, said, “We are immensely proud to support the Zambezi Prize.”

“It shines a bright light on the creativity and talent of Africa’s young people, and the thinking they bring to financial inclusion. This is making real differences in the lives of poor people on the continent.”

All 10 Prize finalists will attend the Zambezi boot camp on the MIT campus during the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) gala in Boston on November 5-9, 2018.

In 2017, Kifiya, PlusPeople, MFS were among the finalists in the financial innovation award.

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