The Annual Alliance Hackathon, co-sponsored by Nigerian Fintech company, Moniepoint Inc. and HSBC, a UK-based bank, has announced the winners of its 2024 edition. 

This year’s event, themed “Shaping Economies through Gender-Intelligent Fintech,” marked its fifth edition, with a focus on addressing the significant financial gap faced by female entrepreneurs through innovative fintech solutions.

A core issue the hackathon tackles is the persistent barriers women encounter in accessing financial services. These barriers it claims often hinder their ability to start and grow businesses, invest in their futures, and adapt to changing environmental conditions.

It also noted that globally, the SME finance gap for women in developing countries stands at a staggering $1.7 trillion, reflecting a critical barrier to economic participation. Despite being the world’s largest and fastest-growing market, women remain underserved by traditional financial institutions and fintech solutions.

In response to this disparity, the Financial Alliance for Women hackathon aims to champion the female economy and unlock its immense potential. 

The initiative was designed to identify and fine-tune innovative fintech solutions from around the world, with a focus on facilitating women’s financial inclusion. 

This year’s hackathon attracted over 200 fintech applications globally. From this competitive pool, fifteen finalists were selected to present their tech-based ideas to enhance access to finance for women entrepreneurs, offer non-financial business growth services, support wealth-building, and facilitate climate change adaptation.

Throughout the event, the finalists received mentorship from industry leaders, including Moniepoint’s VP of Corporate Affairs, Edidiong Uwemakpan. They also participated in peer learning clinics and pitched their ideas to executives from global financial institutions.

The hackathon concluded by spotlighting three standout fintech solutions, each with the potential to advance women’s financial inclusion and empowerment;

1. Pilou – A Latin American platform offering personalized financial education and investment tools for women, which was named Female Economy FinTech of the Year 2024.
2. DREX – An Ecuadorian platform connecting women-owned businesses with solar farms, which secured second place.
3. Futa – An African fintech leveraging payroll data for employee financing in Francophone Africa, which took third place.

The organizers believe the solutions developed during this hackathon can significantly improve women’s access to financial services by making fintechs more gender-inclusive, ultimately closing the financing gap for women-owned businesses.