Visa, LSETF to digitize payments for MSMEs

Visa, the global leader in payments, said it will launch the Cashless Lagos Hackathon in partnership with Lagos Innovates, an initiative of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) as part its efforts to educate and enable Nigerians to reduce their reliance on cash.

The three-day event, which is scheduled to hold from 14 September until 16 September, will seek to digitize payments for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and will be delivered by Passion Incubator (www.passionincubator.ng).

The hackathon is open to software developers, programmers, coders, data specialists and designers who have the capacity to create lasting technology based financial solutions for MSMEs who are beneficiaries of LSETF.

Participants can access lagosinnovates.ng/hackathon for details on the hackathon and have until 11 September 2018 to submit their applications.

Selected applicants will meet with the MSMEs on the first day of the hackathon to understand their pain points before the commencement of the hackathon.

Through the hackathon, participants are required to come up with solutions that would allow the business owners to receive payments, make bulk purchases and keep inventory of their transactions, thereby allowing access to bank loans and government grants.

Kemi Okusanya, Country Manager, Visa West Africa said; “This partnership is part of our strategy to help merchants become more financially responsible.

What makes this hackathon unique is that it encourages Nigerians to develop locally relevant solutions, tailored for their specific environment and needs.

We are always looking to support innovative programmes that can better equip individuals to manage their money more effectively, and these solutions will achieve that.”