Nigerian Fintech Nearpays Wins First-Ever UN AI Prize

A Nigerian fintech just made history by becoming the first African startup ever to win the United Nations' AI for Good Innovation Factory competition. Nearpays beat more than 500 companies from around the world with a simple but powerful solution: turning ordinary smartphones into payment terminals.

The competition is part of the UN's AI for Good Global Summit, where governments, researchers, and tech companies gather to solve global challenges with artificial intelligence. Nearpays won the African regional finals in Johannesburg before heading to Geneva for the global showdown.

The problem Nearpays tackles affects millions of small business owners across Africa. Traditional payment terminals are too expensive or simply unavailable for most merchants, especially in rural areas. That means cash-only transactions, which limit growth and keep businesses locked out of the digital economy.

Nearpays created SoftPOS, an AI-powered platform that transforms any compatible Android phone into a contactless payment device. Shop owners can accept card payments using just their existing smartphones, with no extra hardware needed.

The AI does heavy lifting behind the scenes, handling payment processing, fraud detection, and compliance checks. But the real innovation is that it works offline too, so merchants can keep accepting payments even when internet connectivity drops—a crucial feature for African infrastructure realities.

The Ripple Effect

This win signals something bigger than one company's success. It proves that solutions built for African challenges can compete and win on the global stage.

The victory opens doors for digital financial inclusion across the continent. When small businesses can accept digital payments, they can serve more customers, track their finances better, and access credit they've been denied. Entire communities gain economic opportunity.

Nearpays hopes their breakthrough encourages more African founders to build technology that solves local problems while thinking globally. The company thanked the UN and International Telecommunication Union for creating a platform where innovators can apply AI to real-world development challenges.

For Nearpays, winning is just the beginning as they continue expanding digital payment access across Africa, one smartphone at a time.