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Kenyan software company, Kocela, has been named as the winner in the Payments & Transfers category at the African FinTech Awards 2017. The awards are part of the annual Finance Indaba Africa. The winners were announced on 13th October, after two days of intense pitching battles.

To win the top prize, Kocela triumphed over last year’s winner Celullant and Nomanini. Kocela is a 4 year software company that focuses on development of mobile applications for smartphones. They are well known for the development of the KCB Mobile Banking app that is used by the banking group in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi. Some of their other clients include Standard Media Group, Radio Africa, The Star, Safaricom, Spire Bank, Housing Finance, Credit Bank among others.

Kocela CEO Abel Masai had this to say about the win, “It has been absolutely surreal. When we started Kocela 4 years ago, we couldn’t have foreseen the growth we’ve experienced. We are humbled to be awarded the Best Payments and Transfers Company in Africa. It was great to compete on a global stage with the biggest players in Africa, and emerge as winners. We thank KCB Bank and all our other partners for the great support they’ve given us. I’d also like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the great love and support we received from those who believe in us.”

The African Fintech Awards reward the most innovative FinTech companies in Africa. It has two rounds with the first being nomination and thereafter public and expert voting. The top 3 companies in each category are then generated by combining public and expert voting. The top 3 companies in each category then pitch to a panel of judges in the second round and a winner is chosen.

Finance Indaba Africa is an annual expo and conference for finance professionals.

Here is the full list of winners at the African FinTech Awards 2017:

  • Overall winners: ThisIsMe & EasyEquities (tie)
  • Blockchain & Bitcoin: The Sun Exchange
  • Incumbent Banks: FNB
  • Innovative Banking: ThisIsMe
  • InvesTech: EasyEquities
  • Lending & Financing: Ovamba
  • Payments & Transfers: Kocela