Verto Announces Winners of Inaugural Verto Award at Lagos Ceremony

Verto, the leading B2B global payments platform, has named the first-ever recipients of its Verto Award, a new initiative designed to spotlight early-stage African startups driving innovation, expanding economic inclusion, and strengthening the continent’s participation in global trade.

Introduced in February 2025, the award underscores Verto’s commitment to backing a new generation of sector-agnostic African founders with global ambitions. Beyond funding, the programme provides visibility, access to international suppliers, and the financial infrastructure required to help startups scale beyond their domestic markets.

After months of evaluation and a rigorous shortlisting process, the winners were unveiled at a lively ceremony held in Lagos on Friday, 21 November. The event brought together industry leaders, ecosystem partners, media representatives, and members of Nigeria’s tech and startup community.

Winners of Inaugural Verto Award at Lagos Ceremony 

Three emerging companies received USD 10,000, USD 3,000, and USD 2,000, respectively, to support their global expansion and improve their cross-border operations. The winners include:

Dingpay, a Nigerian fintech startup developing an “offline-first” digital wallet that consolidates bank cards, identity documents, tickets, and payments; Aquatrack, a Nigerian agritech venture offering an AI-powered farm management platform for fish farmers; and Growwr, a Nigerian AI-enabled work platform helping businesses hire, manage, and pay pre-verified African tech talent securely and efficiently.

Itohowo Udofia, co-founder of Dingpay, which claimed the USD 10,000 grand prize, said, “We are honoured to be recognised as the winner of the Verto Award. This prize will enable us to scale faster, strengthen our operations, and unlock new market opportunities. It’s an incredible validation of our work, and we’re excited for what comes next.”

The finalists were assessed on innovation, feasibility, scalability, and market impact by a distinguished panel comprising Dotun Adekunle, COO/CTO of OPay; Ime Enang, CEO of The Conversationalist Limited; Omotayo Idowu, Group Head, Commerce & SME of Providus Bank; Soibi Ovia, Partner at DAO Law; and Austin Okpagu, Country Manager, Verto Nigeria.

Reflecting on the inaugural competition, Ola Oyetayo, Co-founder and CEO of Verto, said, “This inaugural edition of the Verto Award has revealed just how much innovation, resilience, and global ambition exists within Africa’s early-stage startup ecosystem. The calibre of founders we’ve seen this year has been exceptional. As these businesses grow, expand, and strengthen international ties, we remain committed to providing the financial infrastructure that helps turn their global ambitions into reality.”

With the Verto Award, the company reinforces its mission to support Africa’s most promising startups as they pursue growth, innovation, and international expansion.