The awards reflect a shift in the continent’s tech scene, where players are re-engineering industries, from financial services to agritech.By Seth Onyango, bird story agency
At this year’s Africa Tech Summit, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 11-12, innovators driving transformation were recognised for their impact.
The Africa Tech Summit (ATS) Awards reflect a shift in the continent’s tech scene where solutions are no longer just about bridging digital divides but about re-engineering industries, from financial services to agritech.
Here are some of the winners:
– Agritech Award – Mazao AgClimate Limited (Tanzania): Addressing soil degradation and over-reliance on synthetic fertilisers, MazaoHub helps smallholder farmers restore soil health and improve yields while reducing environmental damage.
– AI Award – Cassava Technologies (South Africa): Developing AI-driven connectivity, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure, ensuring Africa’s digital economy is built on secure and scalable solutions.
– Climate Tech Award – Sabi (Nigeria): Its TRACE platform integrates blockchain to provide traceability, ESG compliance, and carbon tracking for commodities like cocoa, lithium, and copper.
– Cross-Border Payments Award – Flutterwave (Nigeria): Send App streamlines international remittances across 35+ countries, offering a faster, more seamless way to move money.
– Digital Commerce Award – OmniRetail (Nigeria): Digitising Africa’s fragmented retail supply chains, improving distribution efficiency and product accessibility for small retailers.
– EdTech Award – Ikusasa Technology Solutions (South Africa): Modernising vocational training through digital platforms, making technical and vocational education more inclusive.
– Enterprise Award – Smile ID (Nigeria): Solving Africa’s identity verification problem, Smile ID provides real-time authentication in a region where 400 million people lack formal IDs.
– FemTech Award – My Pregnancy Journey (South Africa): A digital maternal health platform offering pregnancy tracking, expert consultations, and a support network tailored to African women.
– FinTech Award – HUB2 (Mauritius): Simplifying Francophone Africa’s fragmented financial landscape by consolidating mobile money, bank transfers, and cryptocurrency payments into a single API.
– Health Tech Award – Zuri Health (Kenya): Providing affordable telemedicine services via mobile apps, WhatsApp, and SMS, offering AI-powered diagnostics and pharmacy deliveries.
– Web3 Award – MiniPay (Nigeria): Embedded into Opera Mini, MiniPay enables fast, low-cost blockchain-based transactions, making Web3 more accessible in emerging markets.
– Female Tech Innovator – Chinwe Udo-Davis (Nigeria): CEO of Instollar, a green energy marketplace that trains women in solar installation while expanding access to clean energy.
– Young Tech Innovator – Maxwell Opondo (Kenya): Inventor of Zerobionic, a robotic arm that translates sign language into real-time communication, improving accessibility for the hearing-impaired.
See all the winners here.
SOURCE: bird story agency.
