ThriveAgric, a Nigerian startup that champions technology to transform the payments landscape for smallholder farmers, was crowned winner of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) – a global open innovation program and competition for startups and fintech companies.
Taking place in Qatar amidst the FIFA World Cup 2022, the global finale was preceded by a year-long competition that saw entrepreneurs across the world compete in regional editions before advancing to the final stage.
More than 4,000 fintech applicants entered the competition with innovative payment and commerce solutions to solve the payment challenges of tomorrow. There were 1,130 applications from Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“A new fintech generation is transforming the way consumers and businesses make payments, making it easier for more people to access and move money when they need it. We congratulate ThriveAgric and all the winners in this year’s competition, and we look forward to continue partnering with fintechs to solve the payments challenges of tomorrow,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa(CEMEA).
Here are the top winners of the award:
- 1st place: ThriveAgric – a fintech providing smallholder farmers access to finance, insights and distribution
- 2nd place: Zeti – a fintech enabling pay per use financing of sustainable transport
- Visa Direct prize: ThriveAgric – a fintech providing smallholder farmers access to finance, insights and distribution
- Audience Favorite: Huli – a platform that connects patients, doctors and other healthcare services
“The hard work we’ve put into ThriveAgric will ensure that technology is leveraged to empower farmers across the country. To not only win the CEMEA regional VEI competition but also pitch at the final here in Qatar gives me great confidence in our ability to scale our solutions and continue to enrich farmers’ lives,” said Ayo Arikawe, co-Founder of ThriveAgric.
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