About N140 million was won by 10 small firms at the just-concluded 2025 Zenith Bank Tech Fair held in Lagos.
The event, themed Future Forward 5.0: Tech for Success – Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate, was attended by several stakeholders in the tech industry.
The 10 African innovators went away with the funding support to scale their transformative solutions after a keenly contested hackathon and pitch session.
They qualify for a six-week mentorship and incubation programme designed to help them grow and scale effectively, and this will run from December 2025 to February 2026.
The Startup Pitch Competition for early-stage ventures and drew participation from thousands of developers, founders, and entrepreneurs across the continent.
Two major winners won N30 million each.
The winner of the hackathon, Trust Loop, pitched its innovative solution that delivers seamless digital KYC and liveness verification.
Simultaneously, the winner of the Startup Pitch Competition, Cubbes Technologies Limited, secured the top spot for its revolutionary AI-powered EdTech platform that enhances learning and career readiness.
The remaining eight finalists across both categories were equally recognised, each receiving N10 million in non-dilutive funding.
They include Venille Ltd, Sowota, FLOW, InvoPay, Zenith Intelliscore, The Very Hacked Men, Konfam and Zerax.
We are confident that this Tech Fair will produce innovators who will change the world, and we stand ready to support you to turn your ideas into reality,” the chief executive of Zenith Bank, Ms Adaora Umeoji, stated.
On his part, the chairman of the lender, Mr Jim Ovia, said, “My vision is to continue to empower the youth through technology, with the hope that one day we will produce the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos.”
The Governor of Lagos, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his goodwill message, said, “We want to make Lagos the human capital centre of the world, where Microsoft and Google will think of raising a million tech experts.”