The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced Verto, a UK-based financial technology company, as the winner of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Fintech.

The announcement was made at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

The US$2 million innovation award recognises initiatives aimed at improving access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets.

Verto received the US$1 million Grand Prize for its business-to-business cross-border payments platform.

The platform facilitates payments for businesses in emerging markets by removing intermediary fees, supporting 49 currencies, and enabling faster transaction settlements.

The Fintech prize is the third in the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Programme, which was established to support innovative solutions addressing economic and environmental challenges in Africa.

Launched in May 2024, the competition attracted more than 3,000 entrepreneurs from 126 countries.

Of the 400 teams that submitted applications, ten were selected as semi-finalists.

These teams were assessed across five areas: affordability and accessibility, ethical and responsible practices, scalability to other markets, use of advanced technology, and the potential to promote equitable access to financial services.

In December 2024, the ten semi-finalists presented their proposals to investors at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Three finalists – Chumz, Oze, and Verto – were then selected by a panel of judges to proceed to the final stage of the competition.

Two of the three finalists were from Africa: Chumz, a Kenyan company offering a gamified savings platform based on behavioural psychology; and Oze from Ghana, which provides a digital lending platform that equips banks with an SME-focused app to digitise financial data, improving credit access.

“Across the African continent, technology and innovation are disrupting traditional finance and banking approaches. Investment in this space is profitable and, more importantly, necessary for financial inclusion,”

said Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation.

“My heartfelt congratulations to the winners and all the finalists for demonstrating feasible and impactful solutions that will drive economic activity and shared prosperity in the global South, while influencing the financial sector all over the world.”

Since the Innovation Prize Programme began in 2021, more than US$6 million in funding has been awarded to over 50 innovators.

Participating teams have also attracted external investment totalling nearly ten times the Grand Prize, with their projects reaching over 530,000 people.

The programme offers curated resources and online events not only to award recipients but also to a broader network of nearly 9,000 entrepreneurs worldwide.

At the same event, the Milken Institute announced the launch of the fourth Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize, focusing on AI and manufacturing.

The US$2 million award aims to recognise companies that are applying advanced data analytics and AI to improve manufacturing systems and supply chains in Africa.

Registration for the competition is open until 31 July 2025.

The prize seeks to identify companies that can accelerate technological development, generate employment, and enhance access to essential goods and services across the continent.