₦140 Million Dropped in One Night: The Wildest Moments from Zenith Tech Fair 5.0

Lagos, November 20, 2025 – The lights dimmed, the bass dropped, and the Eko Convention Centre absolutely erupted.

1. “First place in the Zecathon Hackathon… TRUST LOOP!”

The five-person team sprinted to the stage like they’d just won the World Cup. Confetti cannons fired, phones flashed, and Dr. Adaora Umeoji – dressed in electric blue – handed over a giant ₦30 million mock cheque while the crowd chanted “Trust Loop! Trust Loop!” It wasn’t just a win. It was the moment the entire hall realised Zenith Tech Fair 5.0 had officially gone nuclear.

Welcome to the biggest night in African tech this year.

What Zenith Tech Fair 5.0 Actually Was

The fifth edition of Zenith Bank’s flagship tech event – branded Future Forward 5.0 – returned with the theme “Tech for Success: Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate”. Held at the Eko Convention Centre on November 20, it pulled in over 2,000 participants and dished out a record-breaking ₦140 million in cash prizes to ten African innovators.

This wasn’t just another conference. It was the Super Bowl of Nigerian fintech: two brutal tracks (a 48-hour Hackathon and a Startup Pitch battle), masterclasses from McKinsey, Microsoft, Huawei and Check Point, and keynote fireside chats hosted by CNN’s Zain Asher.

The Two Tracks That Mattered

• Zecathon Hackathon – Teams had 48 hours to build working prototypes. Trust Loop’s lightning-fast digital KYC and liveness verification tool destroyed the competition.

• Startup Pitch Competition – Early-stage companies fought for scale-up cash. Cubbes Technologies Limited walked away with the crown (and another ₦30 million) after a pitch so tight even the McKinsey partners stopped taking notes and started clapping.

The 5 Most Electric Moments People Are Still Talking About

1. Jim Ovia’s Surprise Walk-On
   Everyone assumed the founder would send a video message. Then the lights went dark, the Zenith jingle hit, and Jim Ovia himself strolled out in a crisp white agbada. His line? “I started Zenith Bank with one computer in my bedroom in 1990. Some of you in this room are the next me.” The standing ovation lasted a full 45 seconds.

2. Zain Asher Gets Face-Scanned Live On Stage
   Trust Loop needed a volunteer for their live demo. CNN anchor Zain Asher stepped up. Four seconds later her verified identity popped up on the giant screen. Her reaction – “Okay, this is scary good” – instantly went viral on X and TikTok.

3. Dr. Adaora Umeoji’s Savage One-Liner
   During the banking panel, someone asked about legacy systems. The GMD/CEO smiled and dropped: “If your banking app is still asking me for hardware token in 2025, you deserve to be disrupted.” The hall lost its mind. Memes were live before she left the stage.

4. Ilya Sutskever (Virtually) Roasts African Job Fears
   When asked if AI would kill African jobs, the man who helped create ChatGPT replied: “AI will only take the boring ones. The rest is yours to invent.” The clip has 2.8 million views and counting.

The Final Cheque Drop – Pure Cinema
All ten winning teams on stage at once. Strobe lights. An Afrobeat remix of the Zenith jingle. ₦140 million in giant cheques handed out in under five minutes. Someone in the front row actually cried.

Who Actually Won the Money

Total: ₦140 million gone in one night.

Why This Edition Felt Different

For the first time, non-Nigerian startups cracked the top five. The focus shifted hard toward AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise-grade solutions – a clear signal that Zenith Bank is hunting for its next big acquisition or partnership.

The Real Takeaway

One night in Lagos, ten teams stopped being “promising startups” and became millionaires. Africa’s tech ecosystem just got the loudest reminder possible: the money is here, the stage is massive, and if you can build something that makes 2,000 people scream at the same time – the cheque is already printed.

See you at Tech Fair 6.0.