Wema Bank Plc has announced Chao and VOC AI as the first-place winners for its
Hackaholics 6.0. The announcement was made at the Grand Finale of Hackaholics 6.0 which took place in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 19, 2025.
Chao, an engine helping food vendors work smarter and grow effortlessly, emerged first place winner in the Ideathon, securing a N25 million prize while VOC AI, a Voice of Customer SDK that turns everyday notifications into real-time feedback touchpoints, emerged first place winner in the Hackathon.
Other winners include Ideathon winners VARSITY SCAPE who came second with a N20 million prize, FARMSLATE who came third with a N15 million prize, SANE AI who came fourth with a N5 million prize and FERTITUDE, who secured the win for the Women-Led category, taking home a N5 million prize. For the Hackathon, ILLUMITRUST came second, following VOC AI with a N15 million prize, FIX FRAUD AI came third with a N10 million prize and RAPID DEV came fourth with a N5 million prize.
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Congratulating the winners, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, encouraged more youth to explore innovation and channel their creativity positively and productively.
Reiterating the bank’s commitment to empowering lives through innovation, Oseni commented, “For 8 decades, we have stood as Nigeria’s longest surviving indigenous bank, waded market storms, adapted to countless disruptions, transformed alongside our nation over the decades, and spearheaded innovation in banking.
He said, “With Hackaholics, we decided to go beyond being innovators to becoming the bank that empowers innovators even from as early as their undergraduate years. We recognise that the future of this continent will be built on the bedrock of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), which is why our dedication to youth and STEM education is more than just CSR, it is a strategic imperative that we do not compromise on. We are not just providing platforms, we are investing in the youth, financially, intellectually and in every other way that matters”.
“For Hackaholics 6.0, we toured 8 campuses, received over 11,000 high-quality applications compared to 2024’s 2,300, applications, and directly engaged over 2,000 participants in regional pitch sessions. The year-on-year increase in applications shows that Hackaholcis has grown beyond being a competition; it is a thriving national ecosystem for problem solvers.
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“The sheer volume and quality of the ideas and solutions we have discovered solidifies our belief that the African challenge is the African opportunity and as a Bank, we will continue to fuel the innovators that will transform opportunity into impact. We are proud of every participant who started this journey, and of course the finalists who made it this far. To the winners, I say congratulations; Wema Bank is with you, all the way”, Oseni noted.
Since its launch in 2019, Hackaholics has disbursed $300,000 in funding to youth and startup innovators across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, disbursing N75 million to women-led teams in 2023 and 2024 alone—a testament to the bank’s intentional drive for women inclusion in tech and innovation.
Through Hackaholics and several other initiatives pioneered by the bank, Wema Bank continues to invest in Nigerian youth, support innovators and promote inclusion in the spaces that matter, perpetually fulfilling its mission of Empowering Lives Through Innovation.