Gbe La emerged as the overall winner of the Accra Zonal Hackathon Pitch Competition, with five teams securing places in the National Mentorship Programme of the 2026 MoMo Fintech Lab.
Gbe La, which means “the voice” in the Ewe language, is an innovative solution designed to address language barriers in digital financial services and make such services more accessible to users.
The five selected teams – Gbe La, Autosave, Frictionless Tolling, EcoTrust and Adawise – each received GHS 5,000 and will join teams from the Northern and Middle Zones for the next stage of the programme.
Organised by MobileMoney Fintech LTD (MMFL), the competition took place at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra. Ten teams pitched their solutions to a panel of industry experts after completing three days of intensive training, pitching sessions and mentorship at the Accra Bootcamp.
The teams were shortlisted from 19 ideas presented during the bootcamp. The other competing teams were Recyclink GH, Lebe Finance, ESOG, Connect App and FiNora Cash.
Innovation Must Start With Customers
Speaking at the event, Chief Products and Services Officer of MobileMoney LTD, Mrs Sylvia Otuo-Acheampong, said innovation must be driven by customers’ needs rather than assumptions made within organisations.
“Innovation is something every organisation needs. For me, as Chief Products and Services Officer, the question is always: How do we make life easier for our customers? How do we remove friction, solve real problems and address the challenges they face every day?” she said.
“We have moved beyond the days when a small group of people would sit in an office, assume they knew what customers wanted and develop products based on those assumptions. Today, we are bringing innovation from the outside in.”
She said the MoMo Fintech Lab provides students, developers, entrepreneurs and innovators with an opportunity to move beyond discussing ideas and demonstrate their practical potential.
“Innovation is about more than having an idea. We all have ideas. The real task is translating them into viable products, services and experiences that people find useful,” she said.
Mrs Otuo-Acheampong urged participants to put customers at the centre of their presentations and demonstrate the feasibility of their proposed solutions.
“One lesson I have learned from working in products and innovation is that customers determine the value of a product. We may believe strongly in an idea, but customers must see how it addresses their needs,” she said.
“Make sure your idea solves a real customer problem. Clearly explain the problem you have identified, show that you understand it and present a solution that responds to it. As you do that, also consider feasibility. Can your idea work in practice? Can it develop into a sustainable product or business?”
She also encouraged judges to provide constructive feedback to help participants strengthen their ideas and urged the teams to remain receptive to feedback from judges and potential customers. “Refining a solution is part of the innovation process,” she said.
Mrs Otuo-Acheampong, who also served as a judge, said the 10 presentations covered areas such as small business support, savings, spending and waste management, with mobile money serving as an enabling platform for the proposed solutions. She highlighted Gbe La’s innovation for its potential to address language barriers in digital financial services.
“The winning solution, for example, addresses language barriers. Not everyone can read or easily understand the text-based interfaces used in digital financial services. The team developed a model that allows users to interact with services through voice in multiple languages, helping to make those services more accessible,” she said.
She explained that the competition began in Tamale, where 12 participants presented their ideas and five were selected to advance. The programme subsequently moved to Kumasi before concluding its zonal competitions in Accra.
Mrs Otuo-Acheampong also disclosed that this year’s competition attracted 1,791 applications, the highest number recorded since the competitions began.
“This year, we received 1,791 applications – the highest number we have recorded since we began running competitions of this kind. That is an encouraging response and a strong indication of the interest in innovation across the country,” she said.
She said the next phase would focus on helping the ideas evolve into viable businesses through technical support, business skills training and customer testing.
“Our hope is that all 15 contestants emerging from the zonal competitions will return with stronger, more developed solutions,” she said.
She also expressed appreciation to the programme’s partners for coaching participants and helping them refine their ideas, as well as to media partners for covering the journey from the launch to the zonal competitions.
Gbe La: Inspired by a Real-Life Struggle
Speaking after the announcement, Team Lead of Gbe La, Vordoagu Delali Hannah, said the idea behind the winning solution was inspired by someone who repeatedly experienced difficulties completing transactions.
“The idea behind our solution was inspired by someone who repeatedly experienced difficulties making transactions. Seeing her struggle motivated us to find a way to address the problem,” she said.
She said the team encountered challenges during the competition, including difficulties with email and registration confirmation, but overcame them and remained focused.
“Initially, our solution focused on a different target user. However, through the training and guidance we received, we refined our idea and developed the solution we presented. We did not really expect to win, so this achievement means a lot to us,” she said. “Our hope now is to bring the solution to life.”
Ms Hannah encouraged others to seize opportunities to learn, develop their ideas and use their skills to solve problems in their communities.
“I encourage others to take advantage of opportunities to learn and develop their ideas. You may have identified a problem that you can help solve, but you need to take that first step,” she said.
“To women in technology especially, I encourage you to participate in opportunities like this and use your skills to address the problems you see around you.”
Road to National Demo Day
The Accra event marked the conclusion of the zonal competitions. The programme will culminate in a National Demo Day on December 3, 2026, at the UPSA Auditorium, where six finalists will showcase their solutions and compete for cash prizes of up to GHS 100,000, digital devices and other support to advance their innovations.
The MoMo Fintech Lab identifies, mentors and supports emerging innovators to develop practical, commercially viable fintech solutions that address everyday challenges, expand financial access and strengthen Ghana’s digital economy.
The Lab is organised in partnership with the Bank of Ghana, with support from ecosystem partners, including GCB Bank, Hubtel, appsNmobile, Zenith Bank and other industry partners.
Source: Isaac Kofi Dzokpo
