finals

Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in payments, on Thursday, announced that the CEMEA Regional Finals of its Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) will take place on July 23 at 1:30p.m. Gulf Standard Time, livestreamed on leading online technology publication TechCrunch.

From over 1,400 applicants, five fintech finalists from the region have been selected with their innovative payment solutions across fraud and risk, identity and biometrics, digital wallets, open banking, embedded finance, and other key subsectors. The start-ups – representing Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, South Africa, and Nigeria – now stand a chance to progress to the Global Finals at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 28, competing for a grand prize of USD100,000.

Launched in 2015, the Visa Everywhere Initiative enables entrepreneurs to unlock opportunities and build credibility by putting them on the global stage and facilitating access to Visa’s vast network of experts and extensive solutions suite. Since its inception, more than 15,000 start-ups from over 100 countries have applied, going on to raise over USD 48 billion in collective funding.

In the lead-up to this year’s regional finale, Visa held several subregional events across CEMEA, including the first-ever local Levant edition spanning Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. This year’s CEMEA winners across competitions will share a total prize pool of USD350,000 to support their work.

Vice President, and Head, Visa West Africa, Andrew Uaboi, said: “The Visa Everywhere Initiative reflects Visa’s commitment to supporting start-up innovation, recognizing fintech as a driver of economic growth and financial inclusion. Our program helps early-stage companies scale groundbreaking solutions by putting them on a global stage, connecting them to Visa’s extensive network, and driving them to take a step forward in their growth journeys. This year’s finalists truly exemplify the remarkable entrepreneurial talent in this region.”

The fintech journey with Visa doesn’t end with the competition, living on through key deals and connections. A prime example is Visa’s recent partnership with Nigerian fintech ThriveAgric, a former regional and global VEI winner 2022, in support of their expansion into Kenya, where they will help 10,000 farmers participate in the digital economy. Visa previously collaborated with the innovative start-up to provide smallholder farmers with cards, bank accounts, and access to more seamless disbursements.

Also worthy of note is last year’s regional and global winner, Chibuzo Opara of Drugstoc, an innovative Nigerian startup that leverages technology to enhance access to health care.

2024 CEMEA Finalists:
Meet this year’s Visa Everywhere Initiative 2024 finalists, who will go head-to-head for a high-value monetary prize to fund business growth:

• Jordan-based GamerG is a digital-first online gaming tournament platform. The start-up organizes daily tournaments for monetary rewards, employing skill-based matchmaking technology to connect gamers and level the playing field. It offers convenient digital payment gateways across wallets, cards, and bank transfers.

• Bahrain-headquartered CnpSecure is a turnkey digital provider that fights Card-Not-Present fraud and chargeback risks. The start-up generates dynamic CVV and virtual cards on demand, reducing the risk of CNP fraud by more than 90%.

• Qatar-based fintech start-up Tess Payments is a Qatar-based smart payments solution. The fintech offers a wide range of accepted payment methods and secure and convenient payment solutions for merchants, enabling them to increase sales and cater to changing customer preferences.

• South Africa-headquartered Nomanini is a developer of a payment platform designed to connect Africa’s informal and offline retail trade ecosystem to digital financial services. The platform connects merchants and distributors, providing services spanning payment orchestration and acceptance, working capital provision, and merchant analytics.

• Nigeria-based Advantage Health Africa aims to leverage technology to enhance access, affordability, and quality across healthcare in Africa, through integrated pharma solutions. Their approach addresses critical issues in the drug distribution system, such as drug counterfeiting and inconsistent pricing.