Interswitch Rewards Innovation, Awards ₦10m to Winners of Technovation 4.0 Hackathon in Lagos

Interswitch Rewards Innovation, Awards ₦10m to Winners of Technovation 4.0 Hackathon in Lagos

Interswitch, one of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, has awarded a total of ₦10 million in cash prizes to winners of its Technovation 4.0 Hackathon, with Team Quickteller Fashion emerging as the overall champion at the grand finale held in Lagos.

The grand finale of the Technovation 4.0 Hackathon took place on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Interswitch Innovation Lab and Co‑Working Space, bringing together employees, senior executives, judges, and stakeholders to celebrate months of innovation, collaboration, and product development.

At the end of the highly competitive contest, Team Quickteller Fashion clinched the top prize of ₦4 million after impressing judges with a solution noted for its originality, practical application, and strategic relevance to the company’s digital ecosystem.

Team Kampe secured the second position, winning ₦2.5 million, while Team Stable finished third, receiving ₦1.5 million. Additional cash prizes of up to ₦300,000 were also awarded to the teams that placed fourth, fifth, and sixth.

Technovation, now in its fourth edition, has grown into a flagship internal innovation initiative for Interswitch since its launch in 2022, enabling employees to develop technology-driven solutions that address organisational and industry challenges.

Speaking during the event, Adaobi Okerekeocha, Chief Innovation Officer at Interswitch, emphasized the importance of the programme in strengthening the organisation’s culture of innovation.

According to her, Technovation reflects the company’s commitment to bold thinking and the development of impactful solutions from within its workforce.

She noted that over the years, ideas generated during the programme have evolved into capabilities that strengthen the company’s ecosystem, adding that the creativity and dedication demonstrated by the participating teams reaffirm the potential of African innovation to address complex challenges and shape the continent’s technological future.

Over the past nine months, cross-functional teams across the organisation worked collaboratively to conceptualise, validate, and refine their ideas, transforming them from early concepts into minimum viable products (MVPs) with the potential for real-world application across the business.

During the finale, the top nine teams presented their innovations through live demonstrations and detailed pitches before a panel of judges, showcasing strong market validation, operational relevance, and measurable impact.

Although many of the solutions remain confidential due to their strategic importance, the breadth of ideas presented highlighted Interswitch’s growing culture of intrapreneurship, where employees are encouraged to experiment and develop solutions that can drive efficiency, strengthen operational capabilities, and unlock new growth opportunities within the digital payments and commerce ecosystem.

Beyond the competition, Technovation underscores Interswitch’s long-term commitment to nurturing talent, encouraging experimentation, and creating a structured pipeline for turning ideas into practical business outcomes.

As the fourth edition concludes, the initiative continues to demonstrate the company’s investment in innovation, people development, and the future of Africa’s digital economy.