Zenith rewards Hackathon winners with N140 million

Date: 24 November 2025 1:34am WAT

Executive Vice President, CNN International Commercial, Phil Nelson (left); Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Beyond Limits Africa and Non-Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Dr. Juliet Ehimuan; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mrs. Adobi Nwapa; Founder & Chairman, Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Zenith Bank, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Akin Ogunranti; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Louis Odom; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Adamu Lawani and Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, NITDA, Oladejo Olawumi during the Zenith Bank Tech Fair Future Forward 5.0 held at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

A total cash prize of N140 million has been awarded to 10 African innovators to scale their transformative solutions after a keenly contested hackathon and pitch session at the Fifth Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, held on Thursday in Lagos.

The 2025 edition of the Zenith Tech Fair featured an expanded, dual-competition structure that included a high-stakes Hackathon for product development and a startup pitch competition for early-stage ventures and drew participation from thousands of developers, founders and entrepreneurs across the continent.

The prize money was shared among 10 finalists who emerged from the over 2,000 contestants that took part in the Zecathon. In the hotly contested final, two major winners emerged, each receiving the top prize of N30 million.
The winner of the Hackathon, Trust Loop, clinched first place for its innovative solution that delivers seamless digital KYC and liveness verification.

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.

The 10 finalists will also be entitled to 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 Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr Adaora Umeoji, thanked the Founder and Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, for the visionary foresight that led to the creation of the Zenith Tech Fair.

“Our theme this year, ‘Tech for Success: Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate’, is very timely. To appreciate its urgency, it helps to reflect on the speed of human progress. According to the Harvard Business Review, it took humanity millions of years to master fire, yet only 66 years to move from the first powered flight to landing on the moon. The lesson is simple – the next technological breakthrough will not take a lifetime. It will emerge sooner than we expect and could come from any one of you in this room today. 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,” she said.

Ovia, in his goodwill message, said, “This fifth edition reflects our unwavering commitment to create value through technology, innovation, and talent development. 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.”