Our Reporter.

After an intense and knowledge-packed week, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon, culminated in to the Women in FinTech Summit on the 16^th of September.

The Women in FinTech Summit was characterized by colour and pomp as the top six teams were announced and rewarded. Even so, all the 20 Teams got their fair share of the collective USD 10,000 reward prizes.   

While presiding over the Summit, Owek. Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the Minister of State for ICT noted that the Women in FinTech Hackathon is a noble idea that uplifts women and also fosters overall country development.

“We are happy that HiPipo and partners are exploring women’s formal and informal income-generating opportunities that add value to women’s lives and livelihoods using digital solutions. I thank HiPipo for applying a gender lens across all its projects and driving stakeholder influence to advance women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. To my daughters that have completed this program, I applaud you and thank you for your commitment. Please use this knowledge to uplift even more women,” Nabbosa said.

The Hackathon had a total of 20 women-led and women-dominated teams. Team Elevation was declared the overall winner and took home a cash prize of UGX 4,000,000 thanks to its product named Kutayarisha; which is a web-based platform that provides maternity services and products to pregnant women in Urban-rural communities with need to have timely and reliable access to maternity care.

 Academic Personal Assistant (APA), Oliwa Events, and Go Green came second, third, and four respectively while both Lands Resource and Insure Wallet tied at the fifth spot.

Prof. Maggie Kigozi, who was the Hackathon Chief Mentor advised the young developers to use the opportunity presented to them to transform and improve lives of their communities.

“At an individual level, I am always ready and willing to help people attain success. If there is one piece of advice I would give all of you today, it is to pull up your sister. Please pull up your sister. Do not go alone because there is no much point. You will not go very far if you go alone,” Kigozi said. 

The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit were organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation. The Summit had several thematic panel discussions and speeches.

“Leadership is the ability to see the grey areas and hear the unspoken words. When I talk about this I am asking you to check yourself and ask yourself that as a woman who wants to serve my nation, where do I want to play? Do I want a leadership role, a regulators’ role, innovator’s role, an investor’s role or a consumer’s role?”, Princess Shamirah Kimbugwe, the Pivot Payments Limited founder and managing director said in her keynote address, adding;

“There is no question as to if a woman is a worthy player in the FinTech industry. There is just a question of where the woman should play in the value chain. There are a lot of opportunities for Women in FinTech. As a woman player, you have a whole list of opportunities that you can tap in to.”

On her part, Damali Ssali, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) chief of programmes and project officer noted that as a way of curbing high transactional costs in the financial technology industry, PSFU is working with partners, particularly HiPipo and Gates Foundation to implement the Pearl of Africa Instant and Inclusive Payment Switch.

Our Reporter.

After over a week of ideation, designing, developing, and coding, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon reached its climax on Thursday 15^th September with the 20 teams presenting their final minimum viable products (MVPs) to the judges.

Day five was very tense and action-packed as participants prepared for the final pitches. The 20 teams that made the final submissions were Her Duuka, Funa House Property, Tawaza Digital Varieties, Lands Resource, Oliwaa Events, Lima Pesa, Jibu, Academic Personal Assistant (APA), The Platter, Rental Pro, Sayl Kare, E-Truck Service, Insure Wallet, The Fintech Devotee, Tegeka Investment Club, Go Green, Autopay, Elevation, Sueno and Izere Education.

According to Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO, all teams met the minimum expectations of the Hackathon as they were able to have working MVPs and also integrated payment solutions from third parties.

“We have been amazed by what we have seen today. The twenty teams have really put in a lot of effort and extra hours to reach this far. From their presentations and product tests, you can clearly see great solutions,” Kawooya said, adding:

“It will be interesting to see how they move to the next steps in their products’ development. As prototypes, they are good, but then they have and in fact, must put in extra effort to complete the job at hand. We promise to continue supporting them in every way possible.”

On her part, Cleopatra Kanyunyuzi, the Hackathon Lead Facilitator and CEO of Club Tangaza noted that as a trainer, she was excited to see how the teams improved each passing day. She thanked the participants for their commitment to the hackathon and the broader women inclusion drive.

“It has been a busy week but yes, the teams have been very committed. You can see that each team has had tremendous growth compared to when they came here. On behalf of the facilitators, we wish all the teams the best for the future. Let them continue with their products even after the Hackathon,” Kanyunyuzi noted.

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities. 

The winners of the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon will be unveiled on Friday 16^th September at Mestil Hotel and rewarded.

“We are all set for the Women in FinTech summit, which is a culmination of the Women in FinTech Hackathon. All participants are looking forward and optimistic about winning. The top 5 teams will be announced and rewarded at the summit. Even so, all participants will take home something because they are all winners. I take this early opportunity to congratulate all of them,” Charlotte Neeza, the HiPipo FinTechs Events Manager noted.  

The Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator project is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

Our Reporter.

Day three of the ongoing Women in FinTech Hackathon was action-packed, with participants working on their products’ MVP phase one.

In products’ development, MVP stands for a minimum viable product. According to ProductPlan, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. The MVP is a critical milestone in the product development ecosystem.

Minus the MVP, the participants were also introduced to Mojaloop Open Source Software.

According to Sam Kummary, one of the developers of Mojaloop, this software was designed to provide a reference model for payment interoperability. It can be used to overcome barriers that have slowed the spread of digital financial services.

In his presentation, Kummary took the teams through how developers and innovators can freely use the Mojaloop core code, join the community, and build inclusive, real-time payment systems to help support economies. He shared in-depth insights on the Mojaloop scheme, hub and platform and the roles that each play.

“Mojaloop can be used to create interoperable payment solutions in areas such as person to person transfers, payroll and other bulk payments, account management and fraud monitoring,” Kummary said.

On his part, Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted that innovators can use Mojaloop to develop secure and interoperable payment systems that are acceptable globally.

“Payments Schemes around the world are in the process of implementing, or considering implementation, of Mojaloop-based interoperable payments systems. Women in FinTech Innovators can use Mojaloop open-source software to support financial services companies, government regulators, and others taking on the challenges of interoperability and financial inclusion,” Kawooya said.

Still on Day 3, the teams were mentored on Product Management. This session was delivered by Mercy Angela Nantongo, the EzyAgric Product Manager.

Nantongo noted that Product Management is a continuous process that ensures that both the product owners and customers get the best results possible.

“Product Management is important as it is the first interaction with customers before any issues arise. It plays a key role in product marketing at initiation, before you build, while building the product, and after you complete the product. Product Management ensures that you are on top of the market trends. It ensures that your customers get the best quality of your product,” Nantongo said.

Organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon has brought together 20 women-led teams this year. The week-long Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16^th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.