MobileMoney FinTech Limited has launched the Momo FinTech Lab, an initiative aimed at developing fintech talent, promoting innovation and helping young Ghanaians create digital solutions to address local challenges.
Chief Executive Officer of MobileMoney FinTech Limited, Shaibu Mohammed, said the initiative was conceived to democratise access to fintech development skills and ensure that talented young people outside Accra also have opportunities to participate in Ghana’s growing digital economy.
According to him, the concentration of fintech companies and opportunities in Accra has created a need to deliberately identify and develop talent across the regions.
“For us to build an inclusive digital economy, we need everybody and every talent to come on board,” Mr Mohammed said.
He explained that the lab would provide a platform for young innovators to transform ideas addressing community-specific challenges into scalable solutions capable of serving a wider market.
He cited the example of Adjoa, a university student in Kumasi who is developing a solution to address a challenge on her campus, and said the Momo FinTech Lab would help such innovators determine how their ideas could be developed to serve other universities and communities with similar needs.
Mr Mohammed said the initiative would engage young talents across three zones: Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
Participants will submit their ideas through the Momo app, where they will find a dedicated banner that takes them through the application process. Applicants will also indicate the region from which they wish to participate.
Shortlisted innovators will subsequently take part in boot camps where they will work with industry experts and established fintech businesses, serving as partners and mentors.
The regional winners will then proceed to a national Demo Day, where their innovations will be showcased and recognised.
Mr Mohammed stressed that the initiative was not primarily about financial rewards but about equipping participants with practical skills, mentorship and opportunities to develop sustainable businesses.
“This is not about money; it’s about building skills,” he said.
He added that beyond the cash incentives, selected innovators would receive mentorship and support, while ideas considered bankable and scalable could be exposed through MobileMoney’s platform and potentially developed into solutions on the Momo app.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, who officially launched the initiative, described the Momo FinTech Lab as an important test of Ghana’s commitment to developing its own financial technology ecosystem rather than relying on solutions developed elsewhere.
He said the programme would bring together academia, technology communities, startups, innovators, investors, regulators and financial institutions over a three-month period.
The programme will feature hackathons, mentorship, incubation support and a national Demo Day.
According to the minister, the initiative aligns with the government’s digital transformation agenda, including investments in digital public infrastructure, affordable connectivity, data harmonisation, digital identity reforms and the One Million Coders Programme.
He urged Ghanaians, including professionals already working in technology and other fields, to take advantage of the One Million Coders Programme to acquire new digital skills.
Mr George said Ghana’s objective should be to develop people, platforms, intellectual property and businesses capable of competing across Africa and the global digital economy.
He argued that the next major African fintech company could emerge from a university laboratory in Accra, a co-working space in Kumasi or even a young innovator’s bedroom in Tamale.
“We want every young Ghanaian who looks at a problem to say, ‘I can build a solution,’ instead of waiting for someone else, somewhere else, to solve it,” he said.
While encouraging innovation, Mr George stressed that the development of fintech solutions must not come at the expense of consumer protection, cybersecurity, data privacy and regulatory compliance.
He noted that financial technology deals directly with people’s money and, therefore, public trust must remain central to innovation.
“When money is involved, trust is not optional. It is the product,” the minister said.
He called on regulators to develop frameworks that protect consumers without unnecessarily slowing innovation, while urging financial institutions to adapt their financing models to the needs of technology startups.
Mr George said banks should recognise that technology startups often require patient capital and should not necessarily be assessed using the same criteria applied to traditional businesses.
He also urged investors to remain engaged beyond Demo Day and provide funding to promising ventures throughout the incubation process so that viable ideas do not collapse because of a lack of capital.
The minister challenged universities to open their laboratories and encourage students to bring research projects and final-year work into the programme for testing against real-world market challenges.
He also urged experienced developers and technology professionals to mentor younger innovators and help build the next generation of Ghanaian coders.
For startups, he said failure should be viewed as part of the innovation process rather than the end of an idea.
Mr Mohammed similarly described the Momo FinTech Lab as a long-term commitment rather than a one-off programme, saying MobileMoney FinTech Limited intends to expand the initiative as more partners come on board.
He said the ultimate objective was to help Ghana become a centre for technology and innovation while contributing to the government’s efforts to equip citizens with digital skills.
The initiative, he added, would help create employment and ensure that locally developed ideas are transformed into solutions that respond to the realities of Ghanaian communities.
Mr George said the success of the lab should ultimately be measured by its impact on ordinary Ghanaians, including traders who can receive payments instantly, farmers who gain access to credit and young graduates who secure employment through businesses created from innovations developed under the programme.
He formally declared the Momo FinTech Lab launched, calling on all participating stakeholders to approach the next three months with ambition, discipline and a commitment to measurable results.
