By 
ZB Financial Holdings’ support extends beyond sponsorship, offering mentorship, compliance guidance, and regulatory navigation to help developers move from concept to execution.
The Bank has taken its innovation drive beyond internal brainstorming by creating a dedicated innovation hub and partnering with universities to access a broader pool of young creators.
Patrick Maseko, ZB Head of Innovation said, “The immediate benefit is that we get usable solutions that are made for our context. Why go abroad when we can solve problems with local minds?”
By Ruvarashe Gora
Last year’s hackathon saw a diverse range of ideas across sectors, from agriculture to climate change. While not all solutions fit ZB immediate portfolio, some still found traction through partnerships with other industry players.
ZB has sharpened its innovation focus at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) by calling for tailor-made fintech solutions from local tech talent during the 2025 Innovation Forum Hackathon.
“We’re a financial services institution, so we’re leaning more into fintech this year. That’s what we’re really looking at,” Maseko said. “It’s about solutions tailored for our sector payments, compliance, regulation. We’ve even opened our internal gateway and wallet system to innovators.”
Maseko said that while there is creative thinking inside the organisation, the external pool of innovators is way larger than what they have in-house. That’s why they have gone out.
Participants at this year’s ZITF Hackathon will also get access to ZB sandbox environment, including its internally developed payment gateway and wallet system, which can be used as a foundation for building ecommerce tools and digital finance products.
Comments