Some industry players and organisations making strides in the financial technology (fintech) space have been honoured at the maiden edition of the Ghana Fintech Awards 2021 held in Accra.
A total of 11 organisations and two individuals were awarded for their contributions to growth of the financial and technology ecosystem.
The ceremony sought to acknowledge achievements and remarkable strides, and saw the ultimate award going to Zeepay Ghana Limited for emerging as Fintech Company of the Year. The category acknowledged the fastest-growing Fintech Company, Zeepay, for developing innovative products/services which can be measured through their scalability and impact on the fintech ecosystem, and for fostering financial inclusion.
Paybox, a mobile payment collection platform secured in banks’ standards, won the fintech Start-up of the Year award; a category that seeks to acknowledge new and upcoming fintech companies established in the country in less than three years but have shown the most entrepreneurial success in the year.
Dede Afriyie Quarshie and Andrew Takyi-Appiah were awarded Fintech Personalities of the Year for the female and male categories respectively.
BPC Banking Technologies picked up the Honorary Award as Leading Payments Technologies Service Provider 2021, and Panamax Incorporation was awarded Leading Fintech Solutions Provider 2021.
The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPPs) picked up the Fintech and Bank Partnership of the Year award, which seeks to acknowledge an organisation that has collaborated with banks to deliver seamless financial transactions to the broader population.
KudiGo, a startup developing user-oriented retail solutions, received the Fintech and Non-bank Partnership of the Year award – a category that seeks to acknowledge an organisation not in the banking sector but has enabled the industry to flourish through partnerships and collaboration.
The Agritech of the Year award was received by Kwidex, a web platform that allows you to sponsor farms and agribusinesses in exchange for a share of profits and returns at the end of an agric project.
Mpharma, a health tech startup that manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, received the Healthtech of the Year award, while the Edutech of the Year award went to Blossom Academy for combining the use of hardware, software with educational theory and practice to facilitate learning.
Insurerity Digital was awarded Insurtech of the Year for offering ultra-customised policies, social insurance, and using streams of data to inform accessibility and participation.
Clydestone Ghana Limited received the IT/Tech Firm of the Year award, a category that seeks to acknowledge companies working on providing quality information technology services in the country.
The Ghana Fintech Awards were organised by Abjel Communications, a social enterprise communications agency working with organisations to improve their communications and to promote sustainability in Africa, and Arkel Limited, a fintech management consultancy.
The future of Fintech in Ghana
In a statement, Dr. Segun Aina – president of the African Fintech Network (AFN), lauded the impacts of fintechs in Ghana and their efforts at ensuring financial inclusion and boosting growth in the sector.
“We are quite excited by developments within the fintech ecosystem in Ghana, as the country has without doubt showcased itself as an ecosystem to be reckoned with when it comes to fintech innovations in Africa,” he said.
The Africa Fintech Network’s mandate is to develop the fintech ecosystems across Africa, and currently boasts 34-country national fintech associations as members – with diverse partners across the globe.
For his part, the Director of Arkel Limited, Martin Kwame Awaga – who doubles as one of the Ghana Fintech Awards organisers, said the county’s fintech ecosystem is fast-paced and developing; stressing that the industry has witnessed local and international successes with fintech firms, and these firms need to be given recognition to promote economic growth.
“Fintechs are playing a very important role and today presents a diverse view of how people can collaborate with each other. Not one company can provide the entire product and services to the customer – the reason you see fintechs collaborating with banks and other financial institutions on taking services to the masses. However, the innovation, the concept, the uniqueness and convenience to customers come from the fintechs.
“I’ve been working in Ghana for some time now, and I believe the future of fintechs in Ghana is very promising,” said Manoj Jain, Chief Marketing Officer at Panamax Inc. – a global leader in developing Fintech and Telecom solutions.
