Business Post Contributor
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
A micropayment solution for transportation, Eazychange, has emerged as the winner of the first edition of the Pegasus Fintech Challenge organized by SOFRI, a digital banking subsidiary of the Dunn Loren Merrifield (DLM) capital group.
The fintech pitch event, which was held on Wednesday at the DLM Capital Group headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, had 35 submissions where the top 5 finalists were selected.
The outcome of the pitch event was evaluated by series of pitch presentations given by the finalist to a panel of judges.
The panel of judges consisted of the group CEO of DLM Capital Group, Mr Sonnie Ayere; the Managing Director of Links Microfinance Bank, Mr Funsho Idowu; the CEO of Cowrywise, Mr Razaq Ahmed; the Chief Operating Officer of TeamApt, Mr Tobi Amira; the Team Lead Design and Innovation Lab at Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), Omolola Tunde-Alade; as well as the CEO of Interswitch Group, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, who was represented by the Senior M&A Executive, Mr Victor Sada.
Among the top 5 finalists, Friendsvow emerged as the third runner-up, EsusuAfrica as second runner-up, OgaPOS as the first runner-up, while Easychange grabbed the gold medal of the challenge.
While speaking on the outcome of the pitch challenge, the COO of TeamApt, Mr Tobi Amira, said the program was primarily organised to enhance innovation and creativity in the area of Nigerian fintech. He encouraged the winners to properly utilize their cash prize as funding for their lucrative ideas.
According to him “It was a delight to sit as a member of the judging panel for the 2021 Pegasus Fintech Challenge. The program aligns with our objective as an organization to encourage innovation and creativity in the Nigerian fintech landscape.
“It was particularly exciting to see and listen to young Nigerian founders who have come together to build solutions aimed at improving the lives of individuals and businesses in Nigeria for the better.
“I must also commend the organisers of this pitch for making an effort to promote and encourage innovation through funding and support. It’s our hope that the winners would put the funds to good use and bring all their fantastic ideas to reality.”
Easychange is a fintech startup with a focus on creating easy cash payments for transportation in Nigeria, helping passengers who want to pay for transport fares to avoid balance/change issues with cash payments and enabling reliable and seamless payments.
