Visa is inviting payment start-ups and fintech firms to sign up for this year’s edition of its global open innovation initiative.
The Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) is a global innovation programme that tasks start-ups with solving future payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors.
It also aims to give exposure to the start-ups’ products and solutions, as well as access to key stakeholders across the banking, merchant, venture capital and government sectors.
According to Visa, start-ups from across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) can participate in the programme for a chance to win a total of $45 000 in prize money.
This year, says Visa, the project has expanded to include start-ups that are using crypto-currency and Visa Direct, a payment solution that helps businesses move money to billions of endpoints worldwide.
“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,” says Aida Diarra, senior vice-president and head of Visa Sub-Saharan Africa.
Since kicking-off in 2015 in the US, the Everywhere Initiative has expanded into a global programme, helping start-ups from over 100 countries collectively raise more than $2.5 billion in funding.
Previously, two South African start-ups− Howler and FinChatBot − made it to the final round of the 2018 Visa Everywhere Initiative.
“Competing on a global stage alongside some of the most prestigious start-ups 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,” states Giorgi Tsurtsumia, co-founder and co-CEO of PAYZE, as well as a 2021 VEI CEMEA winner.
Visa says every year, the scope of the programme is expanded to engage with unique start-ups and solve problems in the world of payments. It adds it will have a clear focus on CEMEA this year.
The latest edition of the programme sees two new editions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as the global finale in Qatar in November.
For more information and to apply, click here.
Share