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ThriveAgric Emerges 2022 Global Winner of Visa Everywhere Initiative
Thrive Agric, a fintech providing smallholder farmers access to finance, insights and distribution was crowned 2022 winner of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) – a global open innovation program and competition for start-ups and fintech companies. Thrive Agric is also the winner of the Visa Direct award for its role in shaping the future of money movement in Nigeria.
Taking place in Qatar alongside the FIFA World Cup 2022™, the global finale was preceded by a year-long competition that saw more than 4,000 entrepreneurs across the world entering innovative ideas to solve the payment challenges of tomorrow.
In addition to the overall winner, the following prizes were awarded:
- 2nd place: Zeti, a fintech enabling pay per use financing of sustainable transport.
- 3rd place and Audience Favourite: Huli, a platform that connects patients, doctors, and other healthcare services.
“This year, more than 4,000 fintechs participated in the global Visa Everywhere Initiative, including a record 1,130 applications from Central Europe, Middle East and Africa,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President for CEMEA, Visa.
“A new fintech generation is transforming the way consumers and businesses make payments, making it easier for more people to access and move money when they need it. We congratulate Ayo and all the winners in this year’s competition, and we look forward to continue partnering with fintechs to solve the payments challenges of tomorrow”.
Ruben Salazar, Senior Vice President and global head of Visa Direct, said: “As we strive to create more ways for people, SMBs, and larger businesses to participate in the global economy, the VEI competition provides a unique insight on how fintech are helping shape the future of money movement and expanding access to underserved markets and regions. Today’s Visa Direct Award winner will have access to modern tools and teams that help enable global money movement to billions of endpoints worldwide¹.”
The event brought together Visa and industry thought leaders and a previous Visa Everywhere Initiative winner to celebrate the innovative fintechs and their solutions. Wade Arnold, founder and CEO of Moov Financial and 2021 Visa Everywhere Initiative North America and Global winner returned as a judge, with special guest Visa’s Dr. Saeeda Jaffar hosting a fireside chat with football legend Marcel Desailly.
Ayo Arikawe, Co-Founder of ThriveAgric and now winner of both the global and the CEMEA competitions, delivered his pitch on how his sfintech is enabling strategic partnerships with financial institutions and agriculture value chain players to provide smallholders with financial services, agriculture inputs, extension, market linkage, e-commerce, and payment services.
“As a central part of the Nigerian economy, agriculture is the livelihood and main source of income for many of our people. The hard work we’ve put into ThriveAgric will ensure that technology is leveraged to empower farmers across the country. To not only win the CEMEA regional VEI competition but also pitch at the final here in Qatar gives me great confidence in our ability to scale our solutions and continue to enrich farmers’ lives,” said Ayo Arikawe.
About the finalists of the Visa Everywhere Initiative
Ayo Arikawe of Thrive Agric (Central Europe, Middle East and Africa) – Providing small holder farmers access to finance, insight and distribution.
Ayo co-founded Thrive Agric a platform that connects farmers to finance, best practices and market. Since launching in June 2017 they have worked with over 250,000 farmers across 23 states in Nigeria.
Thrive also opens up its platform to financial service providers, insurers, lenders which allows them to access data from the farmers and share value among each other.
Thrive’s farmers grow 7% of the maize consumed in Nigeria. Ayo is an Alumni of Ycombinator and Google Launchpad. He was Top 10 in Jack Ma African Netpreneur Prize and a YTech 100 recipient by the Future Awards Africa.
Mriganka Pattnaik of Mriganka Pattnaik of Merkle Science (Asia Pacific) – Merkle Science is the next generation predictive Web3 risk & intelligence platform
Merkle Science is the next generation Web3 risk mitigation, compliance and forensics platform.
They work with crypto and DeFi businesses, blockchain bridges, NFT players, retailers, financial institutions, insurers and government agencies around the globe.
Their focus on multi-chain and liquidity pool analysis, real-time transaction monitoring and predictive and machine learning-driven analytics provides our clients with best-in-class solutions and enables Web3’s safe and healthy growth.
Dan Saunders of Zeti (Europe) – Fintech enabling pay per use financing of sustainable transport
Zeti helps organisations adopt zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by making it as simple, easy and transparent as paying for a utility. Powered by real-time data, Zeti’s software improves the financial viability of ZEVs for organisations, generates attractive returns for financiers, and helps manufacturers to sell their vehicles.
Christine De Wendel of Sunday (North America) – The fastest digital payment for restaurants and the industry’s future
Christine de Wendel is co-founder and CEO NOAM of Sunday. Prior to this, she was Chief Operating Officer of ManoMano, one of France’s fastest growing tech companies and Europe’s leading online platform for home improvement.
Before joining ManoMano, Christine spent seven years at Zalando, Europe’s largest online fashion retailer, where she built up Zalando’s French business. Christine is passionate about the European tech industry and has become an expert in scaling start-ups. Christine holds a BSc in International Affairs from Georgetown University, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and an MBA from INSEAD.
Alejandro Vega of Huli (Latin America) – Platform that connects patients, doctors and other healthcare services
Alejandro Vega is the CEO of Huli, a Latin American digital healthcare startup. Before founding Huli, Alejandro worked in investment banking where he worked on several cross-border M&A deals.
He also worked in General Electric, where he graduated from the Operations Management Leadership Program. Alejandro is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained an MBA from the Wharton School.
He is a Fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program and an alumnus of the Portuguese international program. He graduated Summa Cum Laude as an Industrial Engineer from Louisiana State University.
National Orientation Agency (NOA) has revealed that an investigation by its Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO) uncovered unethical practices by some tertiary institutions, in collaboration with certain banks, that are depriving students of their rightful access to the Federal Government Student Loan Fund.
Paul Odenyi, deputy director of Communications and Media, in a statement Sunday, disclosed that several universities and financial institutions have been found engaging in fraudulent activities that prevent students from receiving the loans allocated to them.
Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, director general, NOA, shared these troubling findings following a high-level meeting with Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director, Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), over the weekend.
According to NOA, preliminary reports led to an urgent intervention from NELFUND after it was discovered that some university officials had deliberately withheld critical details about student loan disbursements.
Further feedback from NOA confirmed that certain institutions, in collusion with banks, have intentionally delayed payments to approved applicants for dubious financial gain.
Additionally, some universities do not acknowledge the disbursements made by NELFUND to students.
Sawyerr confirmed that certain institutions have withheld information about loan payments issued in students’ names while still demanding tuition fees from them.
He warned that NELFUND is ready to take legal action against institutions found guilty of engaging in fraudulent practices.
He stated, “Recent findings by NELFUND have shown that some institutions have received student loan disbursements directly into their accounts yet neglect to inform the affected students or record the payments in their financial records, leading to unnecessary confusion.
“Withholding critical financial information from students is not only unethical but also a breach of the principles on which NELFUND was founded.
“We are prepared to take legal action against any institution engaged in such deceptive practices.”
The investigation revealed that in some instances, universities continued to demand full tuition payments from students, despite having already received the loan funds intended to cover those fees.
According to the NOA, this constitutes a gross violation of student rights and a betrayal of public trust.
Issa-Onilu, therefore, issued a strong warning to the institutions and collaborating financial institutions, demanding an immediate end to these actions.
He also directed all NOA state directorates to intensify feedback collection from students nationwide to aid the Federal Government in identifying and penalising the erring parties.
The NOA emphasised its commitment to transparency, accountability, and ensuring that students benefit fully from the government’s intervention in education financing.
The statement added that the investigation remains ongoing, and further actions are expected in the coming weeks.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a remarkable $6.83 billion balance of payments surplus for 2024, marking a decisive turnaround from deficits of $3.34 billion in 2023 and $3.32 billion in 2022.
This achievement reflects the impact of sweeping macroeconomic reforms, stronger trade dynamics, and renewed investor confidence in the nation’s economic direction.
Speaking at the 36th Enugu International Trade Fair, Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, highlighted the CBN’s commitment to addressing economic challenges and fostering productivity, particularly for SMEs.
She emphasized the importance of robust financial systems, foreign exchange stability, and collaboration between monetary and fiscal authorities in achieving industrial development and global recognition.
The President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Sir Odeiga Jideonwo, commended the CBN’s efforts but expressed concerns over the recent hike in interest rates, cautioning that it could hinder access to credit for businesses.
This surplus signals a positive trajectory for Nigeria’s economy, benefiting investors, businesses, and citizens alike.
News
Senate Committee Partners with Kuda Bank to Tackle Compliance Crisis as Nigeria Loses ₦3.4 Trillion
Over ₦3.4 trillion in financial infractions were uncovered across federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in 2021, according to the Auditor General’s report — a staggering figure that highlights Nigeria’s deepening compliance crisis and the urgent need for stronger oversight in public institutions.
In response, the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance is hosting a high-level workshop to address the root causes of weak oversight and institutional gaps. The two-day event, with the theme ‘Consolidating Strategies for Strengthening Legislative Compliance by MDAs’, will take place on April 15 and 16, 2025 at NAF Suites, Abuja, bringing together lawmakers, regulators, and over two hundred representatives from federal MDAs.
Kuda Microfinance Bank is co-sponsoring the workshop as part of its commitment to supporting responsible innovation, governance, and regulatory alignment in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
Rasaq Kadri, Kuda’s Head of Compliance, will deliver a keynote address on the second day of the event, highlighting the efforts of Nigeria’s fintechs to promote inclusion and financial literacy without compromising on compliance best practices.
“When public funds go unaccounted for, it doesn’t just damage government credibility, it affects the entire financial ecosystem, including fintechs,” said Kadri. “We can’t build trust-driven products in a trust-deficient environment. Every time compliance is treated as a box-ticking exercise, we miss the chance to build something that lasts. Fintechs have the tools and perspective to support better governance, but more importantly, we have a responsibility to be part of the solution.”
As a sponsor, Kuda will take the workshop to engage directly with key stakeholders in Nigeria’s regulatory and public service ecosystem.
Plenary sessions will be chaired by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Wale Edun. Conversations will focus on closing compliance gaps, strengthening institutional transparency, and promoting cross-sector collaboration.
The Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance Workshop is a unique platform for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative action.
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