LIST | Chumz (Kenya), Oze (Ghana) and Verto (UK) Revealed as Finalists of Milken-Motsepe 2025 Fintech Prize

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced the three teams that have reached the final round of the Milken-Motsepe Fintech Prize.

The Milken-Motsepe Fintech Prize aims to recognize groundbreaking solutions that promote financial inclusion for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets.

The total prize pool for the competition is $2 million, with the grand prize worth $1 million.

Beyond the financial award, finalist teams gain crucial networking and pitching opportunities, allowing them to expedite the implementation of their solutions in high-impact sectors.

The Milken-Motsepe fintech prize encourages the use of modern technology to improve under-represented entrepreneurs’ access to funding and financial services around the world.

According to the organisers, the three finalist teams were chosen from a very competitive pool of applicants. They will now have the opportunity to attend the Milken Institute’s 2025 Global Conference in Los Angeles, California, in May 2025, where the grand prize winner will be announced.

As reported by BitKE, the three finalists have been selected from a list of 9 semi-finalists that were released in November 2024.

The finalists for the prize are:

• Chumz (Kenya): A gamified savings product that uses behavioral psychology to help individuals save money in a fun and affordable way.
• Oze (Ghana): A digital lending platform aimed at bridging Africa’s credit gap by offering banks an SME-focused app that digitizes financial data, enabling better risk assessment and enhancing lending opportunities for small businesses.
• Verto (United Kingdom): A business-to-business cross-border payments platform designed for businesses in emerging markets. It eliminates intermediary fees through a unified network, supports 49 currencies, and ensures faster transaction settlements.

Emily Musil, Managing Director at the Milken Institute, highlighted the importance of the competition in promoting financial inclusion, stating:

“By supporting these pioneering teams, we aim to empower entrepreneurs who are driving economic growth and creating opportunities within their communities.

The Milken-Motsepe Fintech Prize showcases the power of innovation to tackle financial challenges in emerging markets, and we are excited to see these finalists bring their groundbreaking solutions to life.”