DingPay, AquaTrack, and Growwr have been crowned the grand prize winners of the inaugural Verto Global Business Awards, held in Lagos on November 21, 2025. The awards, launched by cross-border payments firm Verto, recognise early-stage African startups with global potential.
Verto’s Country Manager in Nigeria, Austin Okpagu, set a hopeful tone for the event, reminding participants of the company’s own modest beginnings. “Verto processes nearly 3 billion dollars every month, but it started with 10,000 dollars.”
The contrast underscored the core message of the evening: innovation can spring from humble beginnings.
The awards aim not only to hand out prize money but also to provide mentorship, global visibility, and access to Verto’s financial infrastructure.
A night of triumph for DingPay
DingPay, a Nigerian fintech company led by co-founder Itohowo Udofia, took the $10,000 grand prize. DingPay offers an offline-first mobile wallet designed to function even without internet connectivity, a powerful feature in regions where access can be unstable.
The app supports storage of cards, identity documents, transport tickets, and bank accounts, bringing a “digital wallet in your pocket” to under-connected communities.
Udofia, in a chat with Technext on the sidelines of the event, said he was deeply moved, especially because it was his first time pitching publicly. He admitted to being nervous but said he “made his point” and was overjoyed that the judges resonated with his story.
He noted that DingPay is still on its journey to product-market fit, despite having over 4,000 users and already processing significant transaction volumes. But the win was a validation of its core idea: that in many African markets, offline-first, lightweight digital wallets are not just a convenience; they are essential.
The $3,000 second-place award went to Aquatrack, a Kenyan agritech startup. Founded by fish farmer Deborah Falope, the company leverages artificial intelligence to support small-scale fish farmers. Their farm operating system helps with inventory tracking, financial management, harvest planning, predictive recommendations, and access to markets and financing.
Aquatrack already has over 1,000 active subscribers and is working with a pipeline of 160,000 farmers.
Growwr, a South African tech startup, secured third place, receiving $2,000. Growwr connects vetted African tech talent with global businesses through an AI-driven hiring platform, reducing friction and scaling opportunity across borders.
Verto launched the awards earlier this year, opening applications on 6 February for startups from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa that have been operating for roughly two years.
The award reflects Verto’s commitment to fostering a new generation of promising sector-agnostic startups with global ambition, supporting them not only with capital but also with visibility, international supplier connections, and the financial infrastructure needed to scale beyond their local markets.
Following months of evaluation and an extensive shortlisting process, the finalists were carefully evaluated on innovation, feasibility, scalability, and market impact by a distinguished panel of judges.
The panel was constituted by Dotun Adekunle, COO/CTO of OPay; Ime Enang, CEO of The Conversationalist Limited; and Omotayo Idowu, Group Head, Commerce & SME of Providus Bank. Others are Soibi Ovia, Partner at DAO Law, and Austin Okpagu, Country Manager, Verto Nigeria.
Speaking about the award, 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 exist 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.”
In his closing remarks, Austin Okpagu reminded everyone of what risk-taking looks like. He thanked all the founders who applied, pitched, and shared their visions. “Innovation can come from anywhere,” he said, echoing Verto’s own origin story.
