Mobile Money FinTech Limited has launched the MoMo FinTech Lab, a national fintech innovation platform aimed at identifying, developing, and supporting innovative ideas and entrepreneurs using technology to address financial and everyday challenges in Ghana.
The initiative is designed to move beyond traditional financial inclusion by promoting solutions that respond to the day-to-day financial needs of Ghanaians while expanding access to a wider range of useful financial services.
The three-month programme will bring together universities, technology communities, startups, innovators, investors, regulators and financial institutions through hackathons, mentorship, incubation and a national Demo Day to showcase solutions developed by participants.
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peaking at the launch, Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, described the initiative as bigger than a programme by one company, saying it represented a test of Ghana's commitment to developing its own digital financial solutions.
What launches today is bigger than one company's programme. It is a test of whether Ghana is serious about building the future of finance ourselves, rather than importing it,” he said.
He said the programme would provide a structured pathway for young innovators, beginning with hackathons to identify promising ideas, followed by mentorship and incubation support to transform them into viable ventures.
The Minister urged universities and research institutions to open their laboratories and talent pools to the programme, encouraging students to bring their final-year projects and research into the hackathons and test them against real-world market challenges.
He also called on experienced developers and technology leaders to mentor emerging innovators, while urging startups to participate to solve genuine problems rather than simply winning awards.
According to him, Ghana has no shortage of innovative ideas and talent but needs stronger bridges connecting ideas to investment.
He therefore appealed to investors and financial institutions to provide patient capital and engage with startups throughout the programme instead of waiting until the National Demo Day.
George urged professionals and businesspeople, not only young people, to participate in the coding programme to reskill and upskill in areas including data protection and cybersecurity.
He said government's broader vision was to develop the people, platforms, intellectual property and businesses capable of competing across Africa and the global digital economy.
Fintech must advance financial health
Head of Fintech Innovation at the Bank of Ghana, Owureku Asare, said Ghana's fintech journey had been remarkable, particularly following the mobile money revolution that brought millions of previously underserved people into the formal financial system.
He said the Bank of Ghana supported the MoMo FinTech Lab as an extension of its broader efforts to create an enabling environment for fintech development, including its regulatory sandbox, fintech innovation initiatives and virtual asset framework.
Asare said there was also a need to strengthen cross-border digital payments and interoperability across Africa, noting that Ghana was engaging countries including Rwanda and Nigeria to facilitate the movement of value across borders.
He said such systems could help traders and other businesses move money more efficiently across African markets while reducing the losses and challenges associated with cross-border transactions.
He stressed that the MoMo FinTech Lab should be treated as a national initiative, rather than a programme belonging to a single mobile money operator.
This is not an MTN MoMo initiative; it is a national initiative. Telecel, AT, banks and fintechs—all of these institutions have a role to play,” he said.
He urged innovators to build boldly but responsibly, with the needs of ordinary consumers at the centre of their solutions.
Regional engagements and national pitch
Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Money FinTech Limited, Shaibu Haruna, explained that participation in the programme would be facilitated through a mobile application, where prospective innovators could access the programme banner and submit their applications.
He said applicants would go through a selection process involving the development of a longlist and shortlist before finalists were identified.
Participants would also be able to select their preferred pitch locations in Accra, Kumasi or Tamale, ensuring that the initiative reaches innovators beyond the capital.
Haruna said the organisers would visit innovation hubs and universities across the country to promote the programme and encourage young people to participate.
Regional engagements would include activities such as speed-dating sessions, where participants would interact with industry experts who would assess their ideas and help identify the most promising solutions.
The top three participants from each region would advance to the national pitch, where fintech partners and investors would have the opportunity to assess and potentially support their ideas.
Haruna said the ultimate objective was not simply to distribute prizes but to establish a sustainable talent ecosystem capable of continuously producing innovators and entrepreneurs.
He said the platform could eventually be extended beyond fintech to support talent development in other sectors.
The launch marked the beginning of a three-month national effort to identify and nurture the next generation of fintech innovators across the country.
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