Financial innovation hub in Cape Town partners with Interledger Foundation for a hackathon event
In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Interledger Foundation and the University of Cape Town's Financial Innovation Hub have joined forces to drive fintech advancements in South Africa. The partnership, located in the "Silicon Valley of Africa," aims to create a local ecosystem involving academics, students, and entrepreneurs.
Recently, the two entities hosted a hackathon, where twelve teams, composed of students from UCT, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, and Eduvos, worked together to develop technological solutions for real-world problems. The event took place at the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Africa at UCT.
The hackathon was judged by experts from both the Interledger Foundation and the academic community. Takunda Chirema and Si-Jia Wu, former students of the UCT MPhil in FinTech, and Raul Ranete and Timea Nagy of the Interledger Foundation, were among the judges. Ranete, a software engineer at the Interledger Foundation, emphasized that hackathons foster community, courage, experimentation, and collaboration. He also stated that as a judge, he gains insights into new ideas and potential uses for the Interledger Protocol and Open Payments, as well as understanding the needs of the communities the participants serve.
Team Direla emerged as the winner, developing a QR code-based payment system for low-income users and retail partners, utilizing the Interledger Protocol. Their innovative solution was so impressive that it was contributed back into the Open Payments Standard.
Team Fin Illuminaries secured second place with their USSD-driven use of the Interledger Protocol. This solution makes digital financial services accessible through local spaza shops, providing rural inhabitants with an alternative to ATMs. The Interledger Wallet, developed by Team Fin Illuminaries, can also be used to make payments to small, informal businesses.
In third place was Team FlowFi, whose crowdfunding platform for students enables storytelling for the funded and the ability to match oneself as a funder with the individual. The use of the Interledger Wallet in Team FlowFi's solution creates a unique incoming payment URL that tracks payments until the donation total is reached.
The Interledger Foundation is also involved in organizing the 2025 Interledger Summit in Cape Town, which focuses on technology, policy, commerce, and creativity to challenge the status quo and drive systemic change. This summit is an important platform that fosters new collaborations to expand Open Payments adoption and increase economic participation within local communities.
Furthermore, the Interledger Foundation is advancing Web Monetization tools expected to be released in 2025, aimed at empowering content creators—potentially including university researchers and students—to diversify revenue streams. These initiatives collectively highlight the Foundation’s commitment to embedding financial technology innovation within South Africa’s higher education and research landscape.
Dr. Allan Davids, Director of the Financial Innovation Hub, stated that hackathons allow students to create solutions for challenges they identify in their lived realities. This collaboration between the Interledger Foundation and the UCT Financial Innovation Hub is a testament to this statement, as it fosters innovation and empowers students to tackle real-world problems using their learned skill sets in disciplines such as computer science, computer and electrical engineering, and statistics.
[1] University of Cape Town's Financial Innovation Hub: https://financialinnovationhub.uct.ac.za/ [2] 2025 Interledger Summit in Cape Town: https://interledger.org/summit/2025/ [4] Interledger Foundation's Web Monetization tools: https://interledger.org/web-monetization/
- The Interledger Foundation, in partnership with the University of Cape Town's Financial Innovation Hub, aims to establish a local digital ecosystem involving academics, students, and entrepreneurs, fostering fintech innovation in South Africa.
- The partnership, located in the "Silicon Valley of Africa," hosted a hackathon, inviting students from various institutions, including UCT, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, and Eduvos, to develop technological solutions for real-world problems.
- During the hackathon, experts from the Interledger Foundation and the academic community judged the twelve teams, with Raul Ranete, a software engineer at the Interledger Foundation, highlighting the importance of hackathons in promoting community, courage, experimentation, and collaboration.
- Team Direla, comprised of students, was declared the winner for their innovative QR code-based payment system, utilizing the Interledger Protocol, addressing the needs of low-income users and retail partners.
- Team Fin Illuminaries secured second place with their USSD-driven solution, making digital financial services accessible through local spaza shops, providing an alternative to ATMs for rural inhabitants.
- The 2025 Interledger Summit, organized by the Interledger Foundation, will focus on technology, policy, commerce, and creativity to challenge the status quo and drive systemic change, fostering new collaborations to expand Open Payments adoption and increase economic participation within local communities.
