A total of 100 exceptional women have been shortlisted for the highly anticipated “2023 Women in Fintech Hackathon” set to take place in Kampala next week.
Organized by HiPipo and other partners like Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner and Crosslake Technologies, this prestigious event aims to celebrate and empower the brightest female minds in the fintech sphere. The programme gets funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
It signifies HiPipo’s groundbreaking step towards fostering gender diversity and innovation in the fintech industry.
This year’s final list includes 30 teams from across Uganda, in districts of Kabale, Kisoro, Mbarara, Gulu among others, and Kenya comprising the innovators who have made it to the top.
The carefully curated shortlist features an impressive array of talents spanning diverse backgrounds and expertise, all united by their shared passion for driving positive change in the financial technology landscape.
As the countdown begins for the event, these innovators are poised to showcase their cutting-edge ideas and solutions, while also seizing the opportunity to network with industry leaders and potential investors.
During the announcement in Kampala on Thursday, Ms. Charlotte Neeza, the HiPipo Fintech events manager, highlighted the significant growth in innovation interest over the past three years. She said that due to this growth, they have decided to expand the number of participating teams to 30 in 2023, compared to the 20 teams in the 2022 edition.
“Last year, we had 20 teams, which indicated great year-on-year growth for the project compared to 2021. This time around, we have 30 teams, got from close to 100 submissions,” she said, adding that returning and new participants continue to be inspired by the success that previous contestants have had in terms of mentorship, products design, development, go-to market, and seed capital, among other benefits,” Said Charlotte Neeza.
Ms. Neeza observed that the selection had yielded a higher proportion of female participants, constituting 70 percent of the total, compared to 30 percent males. The participants are expected to develop financial inclusion products, including payments, savings, loans, e-commerce, e-health, fundraising, agri-tech, e-insurance, and remittances.
This Hackathon, now in its fourth edition, is a vital component of HiPipo’s Women in Fintech initiative, which also encompasses the Summit and Incubator programs. The primary objective of the Women in Fintech Initiative is to tackle gender disparities in financial technology by empowering women with the necessary digital and financial inclusion skills.
Moreover, the initiative aims to promote women’s financial inclusion by actively creating financial technology products tailored to cater for women’s needs, thereby supporting endeavors to bridge the gender gap in technology access, skills, and usage of digital financial services.
It should be noted that from 2020 to 2022, the Women in Fintech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator initiatives have drawn the participation of over 4,000 individuals.
Through these programs, more than 300 women have received direct training, leading to some of them transitioning into successful software engineers and computer science specialists.
Additionally, many participants have conceptualized, developed, and launched financial technology products that are making a significant impact on various communities. Several individuals have also secured seed capital from both the project itself and external contributors, enabling them to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations.
The upcoming 2023 Women in Fintech Hackathon will conclude with the Women in Fintech Summit on August 18th. During the summit, the most outstanding teams and individuals will be awarded a combined prize money of $10,000. Furthermore, these top performers will gain automatic entry into the Women in Fintech Incubator program, which is scheduled to take place from September onwards.
With its focus on celebrating women’s contributions to fintech, this hackathon also seeks to address the underrepresentation of women in the industry, while encouraging more inclusive and equitable opportunities for tech enthusiasts.
Amidst the backdrop of Kampala’s thriving tech ecosystem, this gathering promises to be a pivotal moment for the advancement of women in fintech, propelling the sector towards greater diversity and innovation.
As anticipation builds, all eyes are on this inspiring cohort of trailblazing women, ready to reshape the future of fintech one idea at a time.
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