Winners of the competition will be awarded monetary prizes and stand the opportunity to partner with a globally, trusted brand like Visa. This year’s program features startups that are innovating with cryptocurrency and Visa Direct, a payment service that may allow businesses move money to billions of endpoints throughout the world via card and account rails. The VEI finals will bring together finalists from around the world who are driving economic growth in November in Qatar. “Fintechs and other payments innovators are transforming the way consumers and businesses make payments, making it easier for more people to access the money they need when, they need it – and the pandemic has seen this become more critical than ever,” said Corine Mbiaketcha, Vice President and Regional Manager, East Africa. Previous versions of VEI have provided some of the most promising payment innovators a chance to accelerate their growth. Mookh Africa, a Kenyan software firm, received both the top prize and the Social Business Payment Challenge at the 2018 edition of the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Visa Everywhere Initiative. In 2021, Arifpay, a universal mobile Point of Sales (mPOS) platform designed for use by merchants, banks, and consumers in Ethiopia, won the Ethiopian edition of the competition and was a finalist at the CEMEA edition. “Competing on a global stage alongside some of the most prestigious startups in the world and, more importantly, being able to receive that global exposure and support from a trusted brand like Visa was an exceptional achievement for PAYZE,” said Giorgi Tsurtsumia, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of PAYZE as well as 2021 VEI CEMEA Winner. PAYZE is an e-commerce-oriented fintech that enables businesses across CIS countries to accept payments from around the world through a single integration. With the support of Visa’s network and a cash prize of $25,000, the PAYZE team is busy fulfilling their vision, having processed more than 250,000 transactions across 2021. The competition also saw Karachi-based fintech, Safepay, win the CEMEA Audience Favorite award and US$10,000 in prize money. Safepay specializes in secure payment processing for e-commerce stores and helps merchants increase checkout conversions, expedite receivables, and streamline sales by allowing their customers to pay online. The VEI network includes 8,500 startups from around the world, and this number continues to grow every year. Since its launch in 2015, the program has helped startups from over 100 countries collectively raise more than $2.5 billion in funding, addressing one of the biggest challenges faced by early-stage entrepreneurs. Every year, the scope of VEI is expanded to engage with unique startups and solve unique problems in the world of payments. This year, the program will have a clear focus on CEMEA, a region with tremendous opportunity for fintechs that are developing innovative products and solutions aimed at supporting the community. The latest edition of VEI sees two new editions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as the global finale in Qatar in November 2022. VEI is seeking innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs who are uplifting communities by solving payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors, including: Enablers of digital services and digital issuers
Blockchain and cryptocurrencyCrowdfundingBanking-as-a-ServiceBIN sponsorsIssuer/processorsProgram managers
Digital issuance
Blockchain and cryptocurrencyAlternative lendingPersonal financial managementMoney transfer and remittanceDigital banking (aka neo banks)Digital wallets, peer-to-peer (P2P) and transfersEmployee benefitsPayablesCorporate cards (aka expense management)
Value-add for merchants and/or consumers in the finance space
Data and analyticsID, authentication and securityInsurTechLoyaltyMerchant services and toolsProcess and payment infrastructureRetail technologyOther
Small- and medium-sized businesses
Money movement (disbursements, Intra-account, P2P vendor and payments)Acceptance (e-commerce and mobile acceptance)Risk management (chargebacks, etc.)Brand management (Community building, etc.)Other
Visa does not acquire any equity from Visa Everywhere Initiative competitors as part of this competition. More information and application details are available here.
