Wema Bank has announced the grand finale of the fifth edition of its youth-focused tech startup competition, Hackaholics (5.0), scheduled for November 27, 2024.
News About Nigeria gathered that the financial institution introduced the competition to harness the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian youths in 2019.
Hackaholics provides young techstars with a platform to turn their tech-driven ideas into reality.
Announcing the date of the grand finale of this year’s edition, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, revealed that they have received over 2,297 applications across 8 physical pitch centers and 1 virtual pitch center in the country.
He further noted that the bank would be giving out N75 million as prizes to winners at the event which will be held in Lagos.
Oseni said, “Hackaholics is more than a competition; it is a movement to equip Nigeria’s youth with the skills, networks, and resources needed to drive Africa’s digital transformation. The Meta Idea theme for this year is a call to action for young innovators to think beyond the present and design solutions that will capitalise on Africa’s growth. We are excited to see how our participants envision and build the Africa of tomorrow.
“At the grand finale, participants will compete for exciting cash prizes, grants, and access to Wema Bank’s extensive network of investors, mentors, and industry experts. The total worth of prizes for this year is N75,000,000. The winning team will receive N30,000,000, the first runner-up will receive N20,000,000 and the second runner-up will receive N15,000,000 worth of prizes. Additionally, we will be awarding a special grant of N10,000,000 worth of prizes to the female-led team to encourage gender diversity in tech innovation.”
