10 Startups To Receive Funding From Nigeria’s Apex Bank For ENaira Adoption
Ten startups will get help from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) in an effort to boost the adoption of the eNaira.
President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari made an official announcement of the eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC) in October 2021. This digital currency was created to supplement the actual currency of Nigeria.
The eNaira hackathon’s application site was made available to all Africans in June 2022 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF).
The goal of the hackathon, with the theme “ENaira - Africa’s Gateway to a Digital Economy,” is to draw together groups of talented African entrepreneurs, designers, developers, problem solvers, solution developers, out-of-the-box thinkers, and “code magicians” to create cutting-edge solutions that will increase the adoption.
With more than 5,000 entrepreneurs registering for the Hackathon, the competition has already reached the semi-final pitching stage. The number of teams was finally lowered to roughly 175 before the quarterfinal pitching.
According to Head of AFF, Daniel Awe, the top 10 teams would receive assistance to increase eNaira adoption across the nation, who stated that 20 teams would be chosen for the finals from the semi-final.
People have questioned the e-utility Naira in comparison to their desire for cryptocurrency, Daniel said: “The reality is that eNaira can only succeed as a product when there are use cases where consumers can visualize the issues it will be resolving.”
To introduce and create concepts that combine the use of the eNaira, the hackathon was designed for innovators, business owners, and startups.
David claims that this is essential “So that the eNaira consumers will now realize the value of eNaira, they will have the chance to see the problem it will solve.”
The bank will provide assistance to the ten winning startups so they may implement and grow their concepts.
The winners will receive:
- Winner: N5 million ($ 11,900)
- First Runner: N3 million ($ 7,150)
- Second Runner: N2 million ($ 4,760)
- The remaining sum of N1 million ($ 2,380)
The top 10 will be a part of the AFF Accelerator program, and “some of them will obtain finance,” all with the help of CBN and AFF.
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