The shortlist of finalists for the Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2017 was recently announced, with a number of fintech and m-commerce apps considered.
The awards celebrate the best in mobile and tech ventures from across Africa, with various categories included to recognize mobile apps that impact numerous industries and sectors.
The annual awards attracted over 300 submissions from across 31 countries judged by an independent panel of leading industry experts, with the winners set to be announced at the awards party in Cape Town on Nov. 6.
Here are the 10 fintech and m-commerce apps in contention for the AppsAfrica.com awards 2017.
This Rwandan app was nominated in the fintech category, and allows users to send money and make payments across Africa through their mobiles. The mobile money industry is big business in Africa, and PesaChoice is making sure it gets in on the action with an app that is available on Android and iPhone.
WeCashUp
WeCashUp is a universal mobile money application programming interface that allows businesses to provide a mobile money payment methods for customers via their app. The company aims to tap into the market of over 800 million Africans who have no credit cards, allowing these individuals to pay online thanks to WeCashUp.
PiggyBank NG
Nigerian app PiggyBank is another of the mobile applications nominated in the fintech category. The app enables users to save money more easily through a combination of discipline and flexibility, assisting people to reach their savings targets through the app.
Netplus/Mastercard
Nigerian fintech startup NetPlus has worked in partnership with global payments giant Mastercard to develop a cashless m-commerce solution that provides the Nigerian market with a safe, transparent and efficient payment method that protects all stakeholders in an online transaction.
Flutterwave
Y Combinator-backed startup Flutterwave is the final app nominated in the fintech category. The Nigerian app provides a modern transaction infrastructure that is designed to allow payments to be made and accepted via mobile.
Farmart
Ghanaian app Farmart was nominated in the m-commerce category, with the company offering an online platform from which fresh produce can be purchased that is locally sourced from numerous farms. Free delivery is offered and users simply add the items to their basket to check out and buy fresh food.
VConnect
Tech startup VConnect is a massive Nigerian search engine that is focused on finding businesses, products or services throughout the country, through an app and website. Businesses can register their companies with VConnect so that potential customers can find them.
Jumia
Africa’s first startup unicorn was built on m-commerce success, with the Lagos-based company using a sales approach similar to Amazon in order to achieve success in various markets, serving over 63 million customers across 14 countries in Africa and Latin America.
Mazady
An Egyptian mobile-based auction service, Mazady is the region’s first interactive auction platform of its kind, and has become popular due to consumer products such as electronics often offered at substantially discounted rates. The gamified bidding experience means that users send their bids through and receive live updates throughout the auction duration before the highest bid is announced at the end.
DressMeOutlet
M-Commerce nominated app DressMeOutlet is a popular online retailer for high-quality fashion products, health and beauty products and home-goods. Based in Nigeria, and with up to 10,000 products to shop from with discounted goods across various ranges, the company’s app helps online shoppers to find and buy what they are looking for.