The Founder and Chairman of Fasmicro Group, Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, will speak in the European Commission as follows:

Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Dr Ekekwe will speak on emerging technology and innovation in the agriculture space. The title of his talk is “Abundance in our farms”. He will explain how the era of exponential food production is near in Africa with the convergence of affordable, accessible technology and bold entrepreneurs in the continent. Farming is becoming a business and these businesspeople will provide assured food security in the continent.

This session will seek to stimulate a discussion about the importance of bringing EU and pan-African agriculture into the third millennium and address how ‘farming 2.0’ innovation can improve food security and boost youth employment in a sector which has recently faced skills shortages and abandonment. It will look at how technology-driven farming can play a key role in agricultural development over the coming decades to ensure that we can feed the world, given that by 2050 the global population will surpass 9.5 billion and will require 50 % to 70 % more agricultural output to secure food for everyone.

Ecobank, the leading independent pan-African banking group, has announced the finalists in the ‘Ecobank Fintech Challenge,’ a competition for African technology start-ups launched in January 2017. The list includes 20 innovators from across the continent.

An Innovation Fair & Awards ceremony will honour the start-ups on June 21, 2017 at the global headquarters of Ecobank in Lomé, Togo. The awards ceremony also marks the official induction of all 20 start-ups into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship.

At the ceremony, the start-ups will exhibit and pitch their products to a jury for the ‘Ecobank Africa Fintech Prize’, which will be awarded the top innovator and two runners-up. In addition to fellowship program, the top three innovators will win cash prizes worth US$10,000, US$7,000, and US$5,000 respectively.

The 20 Ecobank Fintech Fellows will benefit from an opportunity to partner with the Ecobank Group that includes:

• Major start-up funding: worth up to US$500,000 for products that meet Ecobank’s investment criteria;

• Multinational product roll-out support: for the most commercially viable start-ups to launch their products across Ecobank’s 33 markets in Africa;

• Service provider & ecosystem partner deals: for start-ups with deep capabilities to become service partners within Ecobank’s ecosystem;

• Technical & mentoring support: during the one year fellowship period, fellows will benefit from technical support from Ecobank’s global network of technology leaders, fintech experts, investors and management coaches.

The 20 start-ups are:

Piggybank.ng (Nigeria),

Digi Teller (Ghana),

MobiTill (Kenya),

TEAM SAFEPAY (Kenya), 

Wallettec (South Africa),

Greenshoe (Kenya),

Invest Mobile (Ghana),

KUDI(Nigeria),

Wayagear Innovations Lagos (Nigeria),

Paylater OneFi (Nigeria),

PAYVITE (Algeria),

PurseNG (Nigeria), 

Shield Finance (Kenya),

IroFit(Nigeria),

Circle Group Savings and Investment (Kenya),

Inclusive Financial Technologies (Ghana),

Electronic Settlement Limited(Nigeria),

Social Lender(Nigeria),

General Marchant (United States),

Mi Nafa (Burkina Faso).

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge is designed in partnership with the advisory firm Konfidants and supported by partners across Africa and the world.