Another Win for ThriveAgric as it Emerges Winner of Visa Everywhere Initiative 2022 for Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa Region
The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be getting brighter for Nigerian Agric-tech startup, ThriveAgric. The tech-driven startup yesterday emerged as the winner of the Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI). The VEI is a global innovation program and competition for startups and fintech startups.
More than 1,300 pitches were received in the competition, each providing a solution targeted at providing cutting-edge payment and commerce solutions to customers and companies. With the win, ThriveAgric will receive cash rewards and a spot in the Global Finale in Qatar by November 2022. Carepay, another Nigerian fintech, also made it to the final five and won the Audience Favourite Award.
For ThriveAgric, it seems like everything is beginning to click, and the startups can’t put a wrong foot, even if it tries to. The startup has moved from a period of debt and financial disaster to a period of swift debt repayment and represents the CEMEA region on the global stage. The success story continues.
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Ayo Arikawe, Co-Founder, ThriveAgric, spoke on the startup’s significant support to smallholder farmers.
“Agriculture is at the center of the Nigerian economy, yet the sector faces productivity-limiting challenges like access to finance, poor access to the market, and technical know-how. This is why our goal at ThriveAgric is to provide good support for smallholder farmers and enable food production efforts, leveraging technology. So this partnership with Visa is a testament to the work we have put in so far, and we look forward to scaling our solutions to more farmers, “said Ayo.
About the Visa Everywhere Initiative
The Visa Everywhere initiative accords startups the opportunity of resolving payments and commerce problems for Visa, clients, and customers globally. In addition, it offers allows startups to present their ground-breaking innovations on a global stage.
The Visa Everywhere initiative was first introduced in the United States in 2015, but it swiftly went global. 8,500 startups have taken part thus far, and they have raised more than $16 billion in total capital.
All startups with creative answers to the payments and commerce problems of the future are welcome to participate. Additionally, the Visa Everywhere initiative support startups in two ways:
- The competition allows startups a global stage to pitch their solutions to a panel of experts. Startups can win prizes and gain wider attention in the sector.
- As a program, it plugs startups into our global network of partners. This network is accessible to our Visa teams from all over the world when looking for solutions.
Andrew Uaboi, Country Manager, Visa Nigeria congratulated both ThriveAgric and CarePay. He also pointed out Nigeria’s significance in the tech space.
“We have witnessed substantial growth in the Fintech sector in Nigeria. Last year, Nigeria had the most entries from Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, this year two indigenous startups made it to the finals with ThriveAgric emerging the winner. This is a clear demonstration of the country’s significance in the Fintech sector, and the growth potential of the digital economy” said Andrew.