TANZANIAN fintech startups have an opportunity to participate in the global open innovation competition, called Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) that drives innovative solutions to solve tomorrow’s payment and commerce challenges.
Fintech refers to the integration of technology into offerings by financial services companies to improve their use and delivery to consumers.
“The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a platform that empowers fintechs and entrepreneurs to showcase the most ground-breaking, impactful solutions in the world of payments and commerce,” Ms Salma Ingabire, Visa Country Manager for Tanzania stated in a statement yesterday, noting that applications are now open in the country.
The initiative tasks startups with solving today’s most pressing payments and commerce challenges, with monetary prizes, global exposure, and validation from one of the world’s most trusted brands.
In addition to monetary prizes, VEI winners gain access and exposure to Visa’s vast networks of partners in the banking, merchant, VC and government sectors.
The winners also benefit from receiving recognition from one of the world’s most trusted and valuable brands.
The Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) finals will be live-streamed on July 27 on TechCrunch – a leading online publisher focused on the tech industry and the startup ecosystem.
The startup that wins at the CEMEA Regionals will participate in the global finale, which will be held on September 19 at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.
This year, Visa’s VEI CEMEA is set to introduce for the first time an award in the Risk and Security domain–Fintechs Innovating in Risk Excellence or ‘FIIRE’, Award.
Through this special edition, Visa in partnership with Emirates NBD is scouting for global Fintech players across fraud management, cyber security, and credit risk, among others.
Following a joint review by Visa and Emirates NBD representatives, the winning Fintech will receive a 25,000 US dollars (58.6m/-) prize and an opportunity to work with Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region.
Since its launch in 2015, VEI has helped startups representing more than 100 countries collectively raise more than 16 billion US dollars (37.5tri/-) in funding, with a network that includes nearly 12,000 startups from across the globe.
Last year, VEI awarded more than 530,000 US dollars (1.2bn/-) in prize money over the course of the competition, which saw over 4,000 startups participate from five regions.
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