Wema Bank, Nigeria’s leading innovative bank and the pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the commencement of registrations for Hackaholics 5.0. This fifth edition of the youth-focused, campus-based hackathon invites Nigerian youth and innovators to participate across a broad range of verticals.
Hackaholics, known as Africa’s largest campus-based ideathon, provides a platform for tech-driven or tech-enabled innovators and Startup founders to bring their ideas to life, solve real-world problems, and scale their ventures. Since its inception in 2019, the competition has toured 37 universities across four African countries, attracting over 5,000 applications and disbursing more than $200,000 in grants, significantly transforming many lives and business ventures across Nigeria. The last edition, Hackaholics 4.0, awarded over N50 million to talented young innovators for their unique solutions.
Themed “MetaIdea: DigiTech Solutions for Africa’s Prosperity”, Hackaholics 5.0 has expanded the range of verticals admissible, allowing participants to innovate under any vertical beyond the initially listed categories. This includes, but is not limited to, Education, Climate, CivicTech, Insurance, GovTech, Health, Gender-Based Violence, Financial Inclusion, Entertainment, and FinTech. Participants can submit their entries under these or any other verticals they choose, promoting diversity in problem-solving and maximizing positive impact.
Solomon Ayodele, Wema Bank’s Head of Innovation, explained the rationale behind this expanded approach: “The theme for Hackaholics 5.0 is anchored on two principal factors—The Meta Idea and African Prosperity. Our goal is to generate unique ideas that go beyond the regular to solve prevalent problems in Africa, promoting the continent’s prosperity. By expanding the range of verticals, we can better accommodate innovative solutions that address diverse real-world challenges.”
As Nigeria’s most innovative bank, Wema Bank remains committed to fostering innovation and empowering other innovators within the ecosystem. “Our focus for Hackaholics 5.0 is on the brilliance of your mind. We encourage young minds with creative ideas to leverage Hackaholics as a launchpad for their innovations and Startups,” Ayodele added.
With N90 million earmarked as the cash prize for Hackaholics 5.0, young innovators across the country have the opportunity to become Startup owners and make significant breakthroughs in the tech and innovation world. To register, submit your entry at [hackaholics.wemabank.com](https://hackaholics.wemabank.com).