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HiPipo is proud to unveil the nominees for the 2025 Digital Impact Awards Africa (#DIAA2025), following a rigorous review of hundreds of submissions received between 28th July and 22nd September 2025.

This year introduces six new categories that reflect the real issues shaping people’s lives – from sustainable energy and fuel distribution to ride-hailing services, home technology, and democratizing vehicle ownership. These categories matter because they speak to the services that directly affect how consumers move, live, and power their everyday lives.

Joseph Kimbowa, HiPipo’s Chief Content Officer, explained:

“Many submissions went beyond the original categories, pushing us to recognize the real changes happening in society. That’s why we introduced new categories and a Special Commendation for Transforming Uganda – to highlight leaders making a visible difference in people’s lives.”

Now in its 12th edition, #DIAA2025 remains Africa’s most consistent and influential awards platform, celebrating those who use digital to serve not just the connected elite, but also the underbanked, underserved, and unbanked communities.

For customers, these awards showcase the brands, platforms, and leaders you can trust, those solving the last-mile challenges of cost, access, and reliability. For businesses, this recognition signals where the future is headed and which players are setting the standard.

Public voting opens on Friday, 3rd October, and runs until Friday, 14th November (8:00am EAT).

The Grand Finale of #DIAA2025 will be held on November 14, 2025, at the Kampala Serena Hotel, during the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit. It’s where leaders, innovators, and everyday consumers meet face-to-face to discuss what’s next for digital and financial services in Africa.

The Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Summit are proudly organised by HiPipo, with the backing of partners who believe in making inclusion and innovation a reality for everyone.

Here is the Full List of #DIAA2025 Nominations:

Holistic Ride-Hailing Services

1. Faras
2. Ride Now
3. UNION APP
4. Little APP
5. SafeBoda

Sustainable Energy & Fuel Distribution

1. Shell / Vivo Energies
2. TotalEnergies
3. Rubis Energy
4. Stabex
5. Oryx
6. Mogas
7. Texol

Excellent Personal and Home Technology.

1. KIMA Home Security.
2. Yunga
3. Transtel Ltd (Samsung)
4. Tecno Mobile
5. Infinix Uganda
6. Hisense Uganda
7. Blacklyf
8. M-Kopa

Democratizing Cars’ Ownership

1. Ayyan Motors
2. Autochek
3. Success Motors
4. Majibu Africa
5. Yuasa Investment
6. JanJapan

Democratizing Motorbikes’ Ownership.

1. Watu Credit
2. Mogo Uganda
3. Zembo EV
4. Spiro Uganda
5. Gogo Electric
6. Haojue Motors Uganda
7. Yuvraj TVS
8. Bajaj Boxer (Verma Co Ltd)
9. Union (United Boda Boda Riders Cooperative Union)

Financial Inclusion Excellence.

1. Agent Banking Insurance Scheme by SPADES Insurance.
2. AgriShare
3. aXiom Zorn
4. ClinicPesa
5. FutureLink Technologies
6. Pride Bank
7. My Doctor Connected Care Platform

Digital Banking Excellence.

1. ABSA Bank
2. Centenary Bank
3. Equity Bank
4. I&M Bank
5. Stanbic Bank
6. Standard Chartered Bank

Banking Innovation Excellence.

1. FlexiPay by Stanbic Bank
2. Craft Silicon
3. Islamic Banking and Green Financing by Salaam Bank
4. QuickTeller Agents Partnership by Interswitch and Centenary Bank
5. PDM digitization by WENDI Digital Wallet / Post Bank (Pearl Bank)

Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence.

1. Centenary Bank
2. Finca
3. Finance Trust Bank
4. Letshego
5. Post Bank (Pearl Bank)
6. Pride Bank

FinTech Start-up of the Year.

1. Fido
2. Furaha
3. HamzPay
4. Kacyber
5. Kanzu Finance Limited
6. PayTota
7. PesaJet  

FinTech of the Year.

1. FutureLink Technologies
2. Interswitch
3. Jumo
4. SafeBoda
5. School Pay
6. Yo Uganda

Financial Services Digital Excellence.

1. Airtel Money
2. Interswitch
3. MTN MoMo
4. Stanbic Bank
5. Standard Chartered

Consumer Goods and Services Digital Excellence.

1. Belle Beauty
2. Glovo Uganda
3. Jumia Uganda
4. Jude Color Solutions
5. Movit Products

Utilities and Government Services Digital Excellence.

1. NWSC
2. URA
3. URSB
4. UDB
5. UEDCL

Technology Services Digital Excellence

1. Airtel Uganda
2. Cente Tech
3. DHS Africa
4. Comviva
5. Ericsson
6. Huawei
7. MTN Uganda

CEO of the Year (DFS).

1. Fabian Kasi – Centenary Bank
2. Japhet Aritho – Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL)
3. Julius Kakeeto – PostBank (Pearl Bank)
4. Moris Seguya – Interswitch
5. Richard Yego – MTN MoMo
6. Sanjay Rughani – Standard Chartered Bank
7. Veronicah Gladys Namagembe – Pride Bank

Digital Brand of the Year.

1. Airtel Uganda and Airtel Money
2. Centenary Bank and Centenary Group.
3. MTN Uganda and MTN MoMo
4. NWSC
5. Stanbic Bank
6. Standard Chartered Bank

Special Commendation for Transforming Uganda.

No Nominees. Winner to be determined by the Jury and announced on 14th November, 2025.

Voting and determining overall winners: Public voting will run from Friday, 3rd October, through to Friday, 14th November at 8:00am (EAT). Cast your vote at www.digital-impact-awards.com

#DIAA2025 #IncludeEveryOne #LevelOneProject

HiPipo is thrilled to bring you the 2025 Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit featuring the Digital Impact Awards Africa.

Scheduled for November 14th at Kampala Serena hotel, the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit will bring together C-Level executives and industry stakeholders that are spearheading the scaling, adoption and usage of digital and financial services across Africa.

Meanwhile, now in its twelfth consecutive edition, the Digital Impact Awards Africa, which is by far Africa’s most consistent and influential Awards ceremony, will recognize and reward players that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to serve not only the haves, but also the traditionally underbanked, underserved, unbanked and unserved communities!

“Having recently added the very successful and colorful Middle East and Africa Digital Transformation Summit to our catalogue, we have cemented our position as a premier organisation in spearheading conversations around Digital and Financial Inclusion, Innovation and Excellence,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted.

He added: “From Uganda to the rest of Africa, the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit, featuring the Digital Impact Awards Africa, is more than a ceremony. It is a revolution; a catalyst for policy improvement, innovation, and inclusive finance across the continent – and a driving force for Maximizing the Digital Dividend.”

#DIAA2025 Nomination Categories.

The 2025 Digital Impact Awards Africa Nominations will run until 22^nd September, after which the nominees will be unveiled on the 30^th day of the same month. Voting will then kick off until 14^th November, 2025 when the overall winners will be announced and crowned.

1. Financial Inclusion Excellence.
2. Digital Banking Excellence.
3. Banking Innovation Excellence.
4. Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence. 
5. FinTech Start-up of the Year.
6. FinTech of the Year.
7. Financial Services Digital Excellence. 
8. Consumer Goods and Services Digital Excellence. 
9. Utilities and Government Services Digital Excellence.
10. Technology Services Digital Excellence 
11. CEO of the Year (DFS).
12. Digital Brand of the Year. 

Visit www.digital-impact-awards.com to submit your nomination or reserve your participation slot today.

In a landmark decision, Equity Group has received shareholder approval to establish a Representative Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking a significant step in its strategic expansion beyond Africa.

Subject to regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya and UAE authorities, this move is poised to unlock a wealth of business, trade, and investment opportunities, connecting East and Central Africa with the UAE, Middle East, India, Central Asia, and South Asia.

For the thousands of Equity Bank Uganda customers living and working in the UAE, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, this development promises a transformative leap in accessing tailored financial services they’ve long awaited.

The approval, ratified during Equity Group’s 21^st Annual General Meeting held on 25^th June 2025, reflects a vision to bridge continents, with the Dubai office set to serve as a vital link for diaspora customers interested in one on one customer service, trade facilitation, diaspora banking, and capital raising, amongst others.

This milestone also builds on Equity Bank Uganda’s proactive efforts to engage its diaspora, a journey that began gaining traction in recent years through past initiatives where Equity Bank Uganda’s service and management teams visited Dubai and Saudi Arabia, offering specialized financial and banking services to address their unique needs—ranging from remittances to investment opportunities, efforts that resonated deeply with the diaspora community.

For many Ugandans in the Gulf, the lack of direct banking support has been a persistent challenge. Working as professionals, or entrepreneurs and laborers in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, they’ve relied on informal remittance channels or distant banking relationships, often facing delays or high costs.

The new UAE Representative Office, expected to be operational in early 2026, will change this narrative. It will provide on-site support for letters of credit and supply-chain finance, reducing settlement delays, while enhancing remittance and mobile-money services for the millions of East Africans in the region. This aligns with Equity’s promise to become Africa’s “one-stop financial services platform,” as articulated by Dr. James Mwangi, Group Managing Director.

The move also opens doors for Gulf investors to tap into East Africa’s burgeoning markets, particularly in agribusiness, infrastructure, and energy—sectors where Ugandan expatriates often seek to invest.

COMESA Business Council (CBC) is committed to continue working with HiPipo on the actualization of the Include EveryOne Program across the twenty-one COMESA member states.

This was confirmed by Teddy Soobramanien, the Chief Executive Officer of COMESA Business Council (CBC) while giving an update on the Include EveryOne Program implementation in the COMESA region, who noted that the program’s initial phase covering Zambia and Malawi continues to have tremendous impact on informal cross border traders, women and youth entrepreneurs plus FinTech stakeholders in general.

“We have initially covered two countries; Zambia and Malawi. We are having a tremendous impact with this project on the ground with cross border traders, young entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs and FinTechs in general. We are making a huge difference and hope that some leaders in the FinTech industry will emerge from this project,” Teddy Soobramanien, the CBC CEO said, adding

“Our partnership with HiPipo on the Include EveryOne program has been a great example of collaboration and partnership. Collaboration is key when working on projects of such magnitude as it ensures they have expected impact. With collaboration, we are able to leverage on the comparative advantage of each and every one of us and I believe all stakeholders need to have an active involvement in such projects so that they are a success.”

First implemented in East Africa, the Include Everyone program is a broad Financial Inclusion program that engages all stakeholders with the ultimate aim of sustainably promoting financial inclusion. It promotes the adoption of secure digital financial services as a vital tool for financial inclusion.

The Include EveryOne Program has since October 2024 to date impacted thousands of beneficiaries from both Zambia and Malawi including over 100 Women in FinTech Hackathon Participants, Mentors and Facilitators, 40 FinTech organizations that participated in the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative and their end-users, more than 100 Traders’ leaders that participated in the Women in Leadership trainings and thousands of Informal Women Cross Border Traders operating in Chipata and Mwami-Mchinji One Stop Border Point – which is the main border between Zambia and Malawi.

Soobramanien highlighted that HiPipo’s Include EveryOne program well aligns with CBC’s Digital Financial Inclusion Project which aims at fast-tracking Financial inclusion, increasing participation of MSMEs in regional trade, increasing volumes of cross border transactions, increasing visibility of African products within regional markets and directly respond to the intra-trade deficit in the region.

“The move in to Digital Financial Inclusion is to solve a major problem we have in the region, which is the low level of financial inclusion. CBC has been very much involved in a number of projects aimed at empowering women, young people and SMEs to join the main stream of financial market and also help their financial inclusion. We are in the process of developing an online retail payment platform to help small traders, cross border traders, women entrepreneurs and young people trade at the level of the COMESA Region,” he said.

He acknowledged the generous contribution of the Gates Foundation in actualizing the Include EveryOne program in the COMESA region, and appealed for more support in order for the entire COMESA region to benefit from this digital and financial inclusion revolution.

“Since COMESA represents twenty-one countries, this is such a wonderful project which we would really want to extend to other countries so that the whole of the COMESA countries can benefit from the Include EveryOne Program. This project has benefited tremendous from funding from the Gates Foundation. We do hope that as we expand this program to other countries, we will continue to get funding and support from the Gates Foundation,” he concluded.