A total of N140 million has been awarded to 10 African innovators at the fifth edition of the Zenith Tech Fair held on Thursday, November 20, at the Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The 2025 edition featured a dual-competition structure comprising a hackathon for product development and a startup pitch competition for early-stage ventures.
Thousands of developers, founders and entrepreneurs across Africa took part.
Ten finalists emerged from more than 2,000 contestants in the Zecathon.
Trust Loop won the hackathon and received N30 million for its digital KYC and liveness verification solution.
Cubbes Technologies Limited won the startup pitch competition and also received N30 million for its AI-powered EdTech platform.
The remaining eight finalists, Venille Ltd, Sowota, FLOW, InvoPay, Zenith Intelliscore, The Very Hacked Men, Konfam and Zerax, each received N10 million in non-dilutive funding.
All 10 finalists will undergo a six-week mentorship and incubation programme scheduled for December 2025 to February 2026.
In her welcome address, the group managing director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Adaora Umeoji, thanked the founder and chairman, Jim Ovia, for initiating the Zenith Tech Fair.
She said the theme of the year underscored the pace of global technological progress and the need to support emerging innovators.
Jim Ovia, in his goodwill message, said the fifth edition reflected the bank’s commitment to technology, innovation and talent development.
He said the bank would continue to support young people through technology.
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for more technological empowerment initiatives for youths.
He said Africa’s youth population would grow significantly by 2050 and noted that Lagos aimed to become a centre for human capital development.
The fair featured demonstrations on generative AI, agentic AI and cloud computing.
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit of M-PESA Africa, Jonas Kjellberg of Skype and Shivagami Gugan of AWS delivered keynote addresses.
Goodwill messages were also delivered by the National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Vincent Olatunji and the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, represented by the Niger State Head of Service, Abubakar Idris.
The event included masterclasses by McKinsey & Company, Huawei, Check Point and Microsoft, covering cybersecurity, cloud solutions and disruptive technologies.
Singer Spyro performed at the fair.
The panel sessions were hosted by CNN anchor Zain Asher and featured Zain Asher, Adaora Nwodo, Aisha Tofa, David Kpakima, Stanley Jacob, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Gary Fowler, Bradwin Roper and Omoyemen JideSamuel.
Zenith Bank said it remains committed to supporting innovation and providing capital, mentorship and resources for African tech founders.
The bank has received several local and international awards in recent years, including Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, Nigeria’s Best Bank at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025 and Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Banking Awards from 2021 to 2025.
Zenith Bank has also received awards for corporate governance, sustainability, digital solutions, retail banking, innovation, trade finance and transparency and reporting.
