Pesalink recently partnered with Strathmore University to launch the 2025 Pesalink AI Fintech Hackathon.
Through this initiative, Pesalink aims to cultivate the next generation of fintech developers and leaders. It hopes to achieve this by creating opportunities to solve current payment industry challenges that impact Pesalink ecosystem participants.
“At Pesalink, we are passionate about innovation as a means to creating more inclusive and seamless payments,” said Plounne Oyunge, Chief Growth Officer at IPSL. “This hackathon is more than a competition—it’s a practical step toward solving real infrastructure challenges, while nurturing the next generation of fintech innovators who will shape the future of digital finance.”
Over 150 student developers were required to develop AI-powered tools to address the changes in the payment industry, including failures during bulk transaction validation. These failures happen when payments are sent with incorrect account details, leading to unsuccessful payments, delays in processing and extra work for financial institutions.
The participants were tasked and coached by Pesalink to build secure, scalable, and real-time solutions to pre-validate account data before bulk transactions are executed. The solutions were designed to ultimately strengthen user trust, reducing friction, and improving the reliability of real-time payments across the ecosystem.
“Today’s opportunity was not just about coding. It’s about creating infrastructure that enhances financial inclusion and supports Kenya’s broader digital economy goals,” said Michael Gikonyo, Chairperson of SCESA. “We’re proud to see students build solutions that can be adopted beyond the classroom.”
Also Read: How PAPSS Is Simplifying Africa’s Cross-Border Payments Landscape
