When people think about infrastructure in Africa, the conversation is usually dominated by roads, power, ports, railways, broadband connectivity and housing. Yet as governments, investors and development institutions increasingly focus on unlocking the continent’s greatest asset, its people, a different type of infrastructure is beginning to attract attention. It is not physical infrastructure. It is not digital infrastructure. It is the financial infrastructure that determines whether millions of young Africans can access education, acquire skills and participate meaningfully in the economy.
This emerging conversation formed part of the backdrop to the recent UM6P–Jumpstart Startup Competition, where PressPay, the Nigerian-founded education finance company, emerged as 2nd Runner-Up, securing a $30,000 award and gaining recognition among leading investors, ecosystem builders and innovation stakeholders from across Africa and beyond. Organized by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), STARTGATE and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the competition brought together some of the continent’s most promising startups addressing critical development and economic challenges through innovation and technology.
