Rashid Haddadin of GamerG emerged as the winner of 2024 CEMEA Visa Everything Initiative (VEI) final that was livestreamed today at 9.30a.m GMT. The Jordan-based startup beat four other fintech regional finalists from Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) including Bahrain-based CnpSecure, Qatar-based Tess Payments, South Africa-headquartered Nomanini and Nigeria-based Advantage Health Africa.
GamerG is a Jordan-headquartered digital-first online gaming tournament platform. The start-up organizes daily tournaments for monetary rewards, employing skill-based matchmaking technology to connect gamers and level the playing field. It offers convenient digital payment gateways across wallets, cards, and bank transfers.
Since its inception in 2015, VEI has assisted over 15,000 start-ups from more than 100 countries, with many continuing to collaborate with Visa and its clients. These start-ups have collectively raised over $48 billion in funding, highlighting the significant impact of fostering a supportive, uplifting, and interconnected ecosystem.
Continuing its commitment to support start-ups beyond the VEI program, Visa has recently formed a new partnership with ThriveAgric, a former global and regional VEI winner, to expand into Kenya. This initiative aims to empower an additional 10,000 farmers to join the digital economy. Previously, Visa collaborated with the Nigerian fintech company to provide smallholder farmers with essential tools and services such as cards, bank accounts, and Visa Direct disbursements.
The regional winner will compete for the global win during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on October 28, for the chance to receive a grand prize of $100,000. Nigerian startup, Drugstoc, won the 2023 Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) Global Finals.
