3 African Startups Share USD 15 K Prize In Inaugural Verto Award

Global B2B payments platform Verto has announced the winners of its inaugural Verto Award, created to spotlight early-stage African startups building scalable innovation for global markets. Launched in February 2025, the award provides both capital and cross-border support, helping founders access international suppliers, financial infrastructure, and global visibility.

The top three winners—selected after a months-long evaluation and announced at a Lagos ceremony on November 21—received USD 10 K, USD 3 K, and USD 2 K respectively.

Nigerian fintech Dingpay, which is building an offline-first digital wallet that unifies cards, IDs, tickets, and payments, clinched the grand prize. Aquatrack, an AI-powered platform for fish farmers, and Growwr, an AI-driven hiring and workforce management solution for African tech talent, took second and third place.

Verto CEO Ola Oyetayo said the award underscores the continent’s “innovation, resilience, and global ambition,” adding that Verto will continue providing the financial infrastructure to help African startups scale internationally.