Daily Times

National Incubation Center Fintech Hackathon 2022 Finale was held in Lahore on 17th October 2022.

The NIC aimed to find practical innovative solutions, prototypes and disruptive ideas that can transform Fin-tech, not just in Pakistan, but across the globe through this hackathon. The following thematic areas were identified to hack solutions in the Fin-Tech space for the hackathon:

1. Innovation in Fintech Banking 2. Financial Inclusion and Literacy 3. SME & Startup Banking

A nation-wide call for application was made, which resulted in over 1100 applications from coders, UI/ UX experts and finance problem-solvers, that covered 53 cities and 26 universities across Pakistan. The final Twelve short listed teams went through a three-day training bootcamp which consisted of 8 hours of mentorship, 7 hours of training followed by 12 hacking hours to help the teams get better equip for their innovation Challenge. A total of six teams were selected for the ABL X NIC Fintech Hackathon Finale, based on their final pitches post the bootcamp.

The event started with the recitation of the holy Quran, followed by a welcome note by Parvez Abbasi, Project Director, NIC. Where he welcomed all the participants, guests, and judges. The judges include Fatima Mazhar, Advisory board member, COLABS- Mujahid Ali, Chief Information Technology Group, and Sohail Aziz, ABL Chief Digital Officer. “In 2016 we proposed to the government of Pakistan a program where youth can be engaged in creating sustainable technology-based solution, and subsequently creating employment opportunities. I am happy to share that, this program has not only shown exponential success and growth but also leading the change and innovation in Pakistan to real time problems of existing in large scale organizations in Pakistan. As a result of our commitment to bring innovation, the NIC health Hackathon revolutionized the detection and prevention of COVID-19 during the Pandemic, while our environmental duties motivated us to build Pakistan’s first ever Plastic Road. Keeping in view the potential that fintech industry holds, NIC joined hands with ABL, to enable innovation in this domain as well”

Parvez Abbasi, Project Director, NIC

The NIC team explained the house rules for participants and the distinguished judges, after which the Pitching competition was officially started. Faysal Fateh from Team Finantler was the first one to pitch along with his teammates Dr. Seemab Latif and Ahmed Rihan. Finantler, crafts hyper- personalization digital banking products to advance financial inclusion of female, Gen Z and Millennial entrepreneurs. Agha Mujtaba from Team Codek was second to pitch, with his teammates Muhammad Shahzaib and Muhammad Saad. Codek, is a digital log for recurring monthly expenses in just a few steps. Syed Asif from Team OxiPay was the third to pitch, with his teammate Muhammad Shafqat Khan. OxiPay simplifies payments by using QR Codes.

After an informative Panel discussion, Batool Amir and Muhammad Mansoor Amir of Team Oval were the fourth ones to pitch. Oval, leverages metaverse to accelerate financial inclusion and literacy. Syed Araib Muneem and Junaid Arif from OG Pay were the fifth one to pitch. OG Pay, aims to revolutionize the secure and cost-efficient ways to transfer wallet to wallet payments in the blink of an eye by using blockchain technology. Labiqa Noor,Munib ur Rehman and Syed Zain Ali from Fortify were the last ones to pitch. Fortify, is a B2B The Team OVAL was announced the winner, while FORTIFY was second runner up and FINANTLER was the third runner up. The event was concluded with prize distribution followed by a networking lunch.

In Pakistan, digital financial potential is about $ 36 billion by 2025, boosting GDP by 7%, creating 4 million new jobs, and bringing in $ 263 billion in new deposits. This will create a need for young innovators to bring in solutions that will revolutionize space and lead to mass adoption of digital financial services. ABL and NIC believe that hackathons are a great way to mobilize the community to find solutions to existing micro and macro-economic problems prevalent in the country.