Zenith Bank Plc gave ₦190 million to 13 innovators at the sixth edition of its technology fair, an event held virtually for the first time on November 5, 2026. According to Premium Times, this prize pool is the biggest in the event's history, showing the bank's growing focus on digital advancement. The fair, themed “AI: Embrace or Extinct,” drew more than 3,000 entries from developers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide.
A new Future Innovators Challenge was added to encourage tech creativity among secondary school students. Nairametrics reported that Caleb British International School won this category, taking ₦5 million. Queen of the Rosary College in Onitsha took second place with ₦3 million, and Regina Pacis International School earned third with ₦2 million. This new track shows the bank's effort to spot and develop tech talent at an earlier stage.
In the established Hackathon and Startup Pitch categories, Team Solo and Cutstruct Technology Limited each won the top prize of ₦35 million. Other winners, including 10x Brains, Rumour Hunters, Sproutly, and PharmaRun, received smaller amounts based on their rankings. All winners also got access to a six-week mentorship and incubation program to help them improve their business models and scale their ideas.
Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director, Dr Adaora Umeoji, stressed the need to adapt to fast-changing tech trends in her opening speech. She pointed to the bank's digital investments, including its fintech unit FinoPay, which is building a portal to ease trade within Africa. Umeoji said the next wave of global AI leaders should come from Africa, urging participants to create ethical, scalable solutions.
The fair also featured a keynote by Zach Kass, who previously led go-to-market efforts at OpenAI. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Innovation, Science and Technology Minister also spoke, praising the bank's role in pushing tech progress and public-private partnerships.