Choose a challenge theme

This theme covers solutions that change how money moves, settles or is financed across Africa. Submissions should identify a gap in how payments or financial infrastructure currently operate and present a solution capable of closing it. This includes payment rails and the products built on them, collections and settlement, reconciliation, cross-border and multi-currency transfers, agent and merchant infrastructure, and credit or financing models that draw on transaction data. Solutions may target consumers, merchants, businesses, institutions or a specific industry.

Winning solution criteria:

• A clearly defined gap, with evidence of who is affected and at what scale.
• An approach materially different from solutions already in market.
• A working prototype showing the core transaction flow through to settlement.
• A credible path to transaction volume, including first adopters and their reason to switch.
• A realistic view of licensing, settlement and data requirements in accordance with the regulator body.

Suggested data sources or APIs: CBN open banking APIs, NIBSS payment rails, telecom USSD gateways (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile), Android offline storage APIs, Bluetooth and NFC for proximity payments, Access Bank sandbox API.

This theme focuses on the emerging market that turns measurable climate action into commercial value. Companies and industries that generate emissions increasingly face requirements or incentives to account for their environmental impact, while projects that reduce, avoid or remove emissions can generate verified carbon value.

Winning solution criteria:

• A clearly identified climate activity that reduces, avoids or removes emissions, or helps an organisation account for its emissions.
• A clear understanding of who creates the environmental value, who verifies it, and who ultimately pays for it.
• A working prototype demonstrating the core measurement, verification, certification, marketplace or transaction flow.
• A credible commercial model showing how the solution generates revenue as climate activity scales.
• Evidence that the solution can work within African markets while connecting to recognised international carbon standards and markets.
• A realistic understanding of the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), certification, data and regulatory requirements involved.

Suggested data sources or APIs: Sentinel Hub and NASA Earthdata for satellite and geospatial data; Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard methodologies and registries; EU CBAM reporting requirements; Nigerian Meteorological Agency climate data; emissions-factor databases; Access Bank sandbox APIs; and relevant carbon-market, mobile money or payment APIs.

This theme covers technology that transforms how creative work is created, produced, protected, distributed, experienced and monetised across Africa. Submissions should identify a meaningful gap within the creative economy and build a technology-driven solution capable of creating new value for creators, creative businesses, audiences or the industries that depend on them.

Winning solution criteria:

• A clearly identified problem or opportunity within Africa’s creative economy, with evidence of who is affected and at what scale.
• A technology-driven approach that materially improves how creative work is created, produced, protected, distributed, discovered, experienced or monetised.
• A working prototype demonstrating the core user journey or functionality of the solution.
• A clear commercial model with an identifiable customer, user or payer and a credible reason for adoption.
• Evidence that the solution can grow beyond a single creator, community or use case and serve a meaningful creative market.
• A realistic understanding of the technology, platform, copyright, licensing, privacy or other requirements relevant to the chosen solution.

Suggested data sources or APIs: YouTube Data API, Spotify Web API, MusicBrainz, TMDB and other media metadata services; WIPO and Nigerian Copyright Commission resources; Creative Commons licensing standards; social and content-platform APIs; image, audio and video processing tools; content fingerprinting and watermarking technologies; event and ticketing APIs; e-commerce and marketplace tools; Access Bank sandbox APIs; and other open datasets or developer platforms relevant to the selected creative industry.