Applications Open in Uganda For Visa Everywhere Initiative

VEI opens applications for Ugandan startups solving payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors.

PC Tech April 19, 2023

2 minutes read

Finalists from the 2022 Visa Everywhere Initiative global final pose for a group photo.

Applications are now open in Uganda for the 2023 edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global open innovation competition that sees startups pitch their innovative solutions to solve payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors.

“The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a platform that empowers fintech and entrepreneurs to showcase the most ground-breaking, impactful solutions in the world of payments and commerce,” Salma Ingabire, Visa Country Manager for Uganda said in a press statement.

Ingabire further explains that “Through their [VEI Platform] technology-driven, innovative solutions, fintechs have the potential to offer broad social benefits to the markets they operate in – particularly when it comes to providing financial services to those who have traditionally been underserved.”

Visa believes that access to the digital economy drives equitable, inclusive growth, and VEI is an important means of supporting the innovators playing a leading role in this space.

The selected startups from Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) will pitch in a live-streamed event on July 27 on TechCrunch. The startup that wins at the CEMEA Regionals will participate in the global finale, which will be held on Sep. 19 at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco.

In addition to monetary prizes, VEI winners will gain access and exposure to Visa’s vast networks of partners in the banking, merchant, VC, and government sectors. The winners will also benefit from receiving recognition from one of the world’s most trusted and valuable brands.

The cash prize includes;

VEI CEMEA Regionals 1st place: USD$20,000.
VEI CEMEA Regionals Audience Favorites: USD$10,000.
VEI CEMEA Regionals Risk Winner: USD$25,000.

Notably, this year, VEI CEMEA has introduced for the first time an award in the Risk and Security domain — Fintechs Innovating in Risk Excellence (FIIRE) Award. Visa in partnership with Emirates NBD is scouting for global Fintech players across fraud management, cybersecurity, and credit risk, among others. Following a joint review by Visa and Emirates NBD, the winning fintech will receive a USD$25,000 (roughly UGX93.6 million) prize and an opportunity to work with Emirates NBD.

Since its launch in 2015, VEI has helped startups representing more than 100 countries collectively raise more than USD$16 billion in funding, with a network that includes nearly 12,000 startups from across the globe.

Last year, VEI awarded more than USD$530,000 in prize money over the course of the competition, which saw over 4,000 startups participate from five regions. VEI 2022 saw Nigeria’s ThriveAgric take home the VEI Global grand prize of USD$100,000 and also won the USD$20,000 Visa Direct prize.

Nigeria’s ThriveAgric take home the VEI Global grand prize of USD$100,000 and also won the USD$20,000 Visa Direct prize.

Interested applicants can submit their application before May 22, 2023.

VEI is seeking innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs who are uplifting communities by solving payment and commerce challenges faced by businesses of all sizes and sectors, including:

Enablers of digital services and digital issuers