Wema Bank has announced a N120 million prize pool for the Hackaholics 6.0 grand finale following the emergence of 35 teams from regional pitch sessions that recorded 1,460 participants across seven cities in Nigeria.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, disclosed that the N120 million would be distributed across several winning categories at the grand finale of the innovation challenge.
According to him, the Ideathon prizes include N25 million for the first-place winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, and N15 million for the second runner-up. In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place teams will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million, and N5 million respectively.
In addition to these, two women-led innovations, one from each vertical, will receive N5 million each in recognition of Wema Bank’s ongoing commitment to promoting female participation in technology and innovation.
Oseni said, “Hackaholics continues to demonstrate the power of young people to shape the future of technology and nation-building. We believe strongly in the ideas, resilience, and ingenuity of the youths, and our investment in this initiative is a clear testament of our commitment to giving them the resources, mentorship, and platform.”
He added, “As these finalists head to Lagos, we are confident that their innovations will create meaningful impact across industries and communities, and we are proud to be a champion for that transformation.”
The 35 finalist teams emerged from a regional pitch cycle that attracted over a thousand applications across eight pitch centres: Ahmadu Bello University (ABU Zaria), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Lagos State University (LASU), University of Uyo (UniUyo), Babcock University, University of Ibadan (UI), Veritas University Abuja, and Purple Academy Lagos.
Each of these centres offered students access to masterclasses led by industry experts, hands-on mentorship sessions, and structured pitch development opportunities. These activities culminated in highly competitive presentations before panels of expert judges, resulting in the selection of the top-performing teams.
Among the 35 finalists are 17 Ideathon teams, 12 Hackathon teams, and six women-led teams, all developing innovative solutions to address challenges in fraud detection, customer experience, onboarding, acquisition, credit management, and other areas with social and economic impact.
The finalists will participate in a three-day pre-finale mentorship and shortlisting programme in Lagos ahead of the grand finale. During this stage, they will receive further guidance from professionals and prepare to present their solutions to investors, policymakers, and industry experts.
Several of the finalists shared their excitement about advancing to the Lagos stage. The team leader of Veritas University’s Hackathon winner, Tensor, Medugu Wali, explained their motivation for joining the competition.
“We built ‘Wallet Padi’ because we believe it can genuinely improve how Nigerians manage their money. Advancing to the pre-finale leg of Wema Bank Hackaholics is a big step toward bringing that vision to life, and we appreciate Wema Bank for creating this platform,” Wali said.
Babcock University’s Ideathon winner, Akobundu Gift, also expressed joy at making it to the next stage. Having participated in the Hackaholics challenge in 2023 without success, Akobundu said the experience motivated him to keep building his startup, Chao.
According to him, “Chao started as a small campus food-delivery idea in 2023, and it has grown far beyond what we imagined. Reaching the Hackaholics finals again reflects how much we’ve evolved. We’re grateful to Wema Bank for the opportunity and excited to compete at the next stage.”
Similarly, Ogunlana Tosin, founder of Eutopia.ai, the women-led project winner at Veritas University, shared her excitement after being announced as a winner at her Pitch Centre. She said, “Not making it at Babcock was honestly painful, but we were determined to win so we took the feedback, refined our solution and returned to try again. Advancing beyond the preliminaries this time showed me what’s possible when we don’t give up. I’m truly grateful to Wema Bank for this opportunity and for continuing to champion women empowerment, helping women-led innovation to thrive, and supporting women through initiatives like SARA.”
Since its introduction in 2019, Hackaholics has evolved into one of Nigeria’s most recognized youth innovation platforms. The competition has attracted over 12,000 applicants from 15 universities and has disbursed more than $300,000 in funding and support to emerging innovators. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, Wema Bank awarded ₦75 million to women-led teams as part of its inclusion and empowerment strategy.
Earlier this year, Wema Bank expanded the initiative with the launch of the Hackaholics Accelerator and Collective Program. The expansion provides ongoing support to early-stage founders beyond the competition period, ensuring that promising startups continue to receive mentorship, exposure, and access to funding opportunities.
The Hackaholics 6.0 Grand Finale is expected to bring together leading industry professionals, policymakers, investors, and technology experts in Lagos. The event will feature live pitches, product showcases, and the unveiling of a new generation of Nigerian innovators whose ideas could drive transformation across different sectors of the economy.
