Nigeria: Zenith Bank commits N140m to tech innovation through Zecathon 5.0

Zenith Bank has concluded the 2025 edition of its flagship innovation competition, Zecathon 5.0, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s technology and startup ecosystem. The programme climaxed at the Zenith Tech Fair, attracting thousands of applications and distributing a total of N140 million in prize funding.

The event drew high-profile participation, including the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, highlighting growing public-private alignment in harnessing local innovation to drive economic development.

The 2025 edition further cemented Zecathon’s role as a launchpad for emerging startups, with the introduction of a more rigorous Innovation Hackathon track. From hundreds of entries, 20 teams of developers and designers were selected to take part in an intensive three-day sprint, focused on rapid problem-solving and technical execution across key sectors.

Speaking on the initiative, Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, described Zecathon as a strategic investment in Africa’s digital future.

“Our mission is to equip innovators with the resources and support required to build solutions that address real challenges and accelerate Africa’s digital and economic growth. Zecathon remains a vital platform where bold ideas are refined into market-ready solutions,” she said.

At the Innovation Hackathon, TrustLoop, a digital KYC and liveness verification solution, emerged as the overall winner, securing the top prize of N30 million. Other finalist teams—Konfam, The Very Hacked Men, Zenith IntelliScore, and ZeraX—each received N10 million in recognition of their solutions.

The Startup Pitch Competition also showcased strong early-stage innovation across fintech, edtech, and healthcare. Cubbes, an education technology startup, emerged as the overall winner, taking home N30 million, while Venille, Sowota, Invopay, and Flow were named runners-up and awarded N10 million each.

Commenting on the outcome, Fikun Aluko, Head of Tech and Entrepreneurship Programmes at Beyond Limits Global, said the edition underscored the value of structured collaboration between institutions and innovators.

“This year’s Zecathon demonstrated the impact of platforms that connect visionary organisations with entrepreneurial talent. The solutions presented have strong potential to advance digital transformation across Africa,” he said.