The Women in FinTech Hackathon is a strategic initiative for closing the gender gap in Digital Financial Services (DFS). It is a timely intervention especially considering that in 2021, less than 1% of foreign funding to Africa went to women-led enterprises.
In Uganda, the Women in FinTech initiative has in the past five years played a crucial role in addressing the gender diversity gap in FinTech by providing more than 500 women with essential skills in FinTech product ideation, development, launch, marketing and sustainability.
Many of the women that have participated in this initiative have gone on to establish successful FinTech companies that are improving financial inclusion by catering to thousands of previously unserved or underserved individuals. Additionally, several others have obtained seed capital to expand their FinTech start-ups. Notable success stories from the HiPipo Women in FinTech project include PesaJet (Savings and Credit), Kanzu Money (payments), Tawaza Diva (Credit, Payments, Insurance), Kuzimba (Construction and Payments), KaCyber (Transport and Payments), Kawu (e-wallet for School Pocket Money), and Belle Beauty (Beauty, E-commerce, and Ticketing) among others. Together, these ventures directly serve nearly one million customers. Many more women have been empowered and skilled to become better founders and organisation leaders.
Building on the great success in Uganda, HiPipo and Comesa Business Council (CBC) with support from their partners are rolling-out the Women in FinTech initiative across the COMESA region, starting with Zambia and Malawi.
Women in FinTech Hackathon for Zambia and Malawi.
The Women in FinTech Hackathon for Zambia and Malawi will be a week long activity that will involve a face-to-face marathon with up to 20 women-led teams in March, 2025. The Hackathon will offer physical and remote engagements to enable women from different parts of Zambia and Malawi to participate. Our goal is to introduce and on-board women FinTechs to new and emerging innovative tools and networks such as the Level One Project, Mojaloop Open-Source Software (OSS), and its community. The participants will be enabled to:
- Produce demo Proof of Concepts (POCs) for products using Open-Source Software,
- Test tools
- Get women-developed or women-themed products adapted by mobile network operators, banks, or remittance services providers.
Eligibility and Team Composition:
While the Hackathon is open to all women interested in Financial Technology, eligible teams must meet this criterion:
- Each team must have 2 to 4 members.
- The team leader must be a woman.
- At-least 2 of the team members must be women.
- Each team must have at-least one developer.
- Innovators with FinTech solutions supporting Cross Border Trade are encouraged to register.
Team Carry-Ons.
- Each team must come with its own laptops, a tablet or a smart device and a feature phone for their product development.
Hackathon Provisions.
- Wi-Fi and power source.
- Stationery – pens, notebooks, sticky notes, manilla paper and markers.
- Breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
- Facilitators
Structure.
- The Hackathon will be led by facilitators charged with training the participants.
- The Hackathon will also have selected FinTech key players who will mentor participants on different topics such as Project Management, Fundraising and Financial Management, Pitching and Go to Market Strategies, among others.
- The Hackathon will be coordinated by a joint team led by HiPipo and the COMESA Business Council.
Benefits:
- Networking with fellow developers and facilitators from across the world.
- Mentorship from industry players and business leaders.
- Access to latest infrastructure and technology.
- Prizes to the winning team and all participants.
Register by completing the entry form below before 7th March, 2025.