At the 2025 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, a global financial technology firm Verto was awarded the $1 million Grand Prize in the prestigious Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech. The award recognizes innovation in financial technology aimed at improving access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets.
This year’s fintech prize is part of the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program, a multimillion-dollar initiative launched to reward scalable solutions tackling economic and environmental challenges across Africa. It marks the third prize in the series, following previous recognitions in agriculture and green energy.
“Investment in fintech is not just profitable. It’s necessary for financial inclusion. The winners and finalists have demonstrated feasible and impactful solutions that will drive economic activity and shared prosperity in the Global South while influencing the financial sector worldwide.” said Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Co-Founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation.
Why Verto Won
Founded by Ola Oyetayo (Co-Founder/CEO) and Anthony O. (Co-Founder/CTO/CPO), Verto operates a B2B cross-border payments platform that solves one of Africa’s most pressing challenges: inefficient and costly international transactions.
Verto helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across Africa and emerging markets move money quickly and affordably by eliminating intermediary fees, supporting 49 currencies, and delivering instant settlements, Its platform enables users to open wallets or bank accounts, convert currencies, and send payments to over 200 countries, all from a single digital dashboard.
In a personal reflection, Anthony O. shared on LinkedIn:
“When we started building, we didn’t just want to move money. We wanted to move possibility — across borders, communities, and barriers.
This recognition isn’t just a win for us. It’s a win for every entrepreneur solving hard problems in hard places… a win for Africa’s fintech ecosystem — proving the world is finally paying attention…”
Verto has grown into a trusted payment partner for 1,000+ clients, from startups and SMEs to large corporates. The fintech’s liquidity and price discovery marketplace makes foreign exchange transparent and accessible, enabling businesses to scale without being held back by fragmented financial systems.
The Competition Behind the Win
Launched in May 2024, the Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech drew more than 3,000 entrepreneurs from 126 countries across six continents. From 400 applicants, only 10 semifinalists were selected. These teams pitched at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi in December 2024.
Finalists (Chumz, Oze, and Verto) were chosen by an expert panel based on:
- Affordability and accessibility
- Ethical and responsible practices
- Scalability
- Use of advanced technology
- Promotion of financial inclusion
Verto’s solution stood out for its ability to scale across markets, serve real businesses, and impact global commerce with a lean infrastructure.
FinTech Momentum and What’s Next
The Milken-Motsepe program, since launching in 2021, has awarded over $6 million to more than 50 innovators. Participating startups have raised nearly 10 times the grand prize amount in outside funding, and impacted over 530,000 community members globally.
Now, Verto joins a growing league of African fintech leaders like Flutterwave and Chipper Cash, all solving friction points in digital payments, cross-border commerce, and financial inclusion. The $1 million prize positions Verto to scale its operations, expand product offerings, and reinforce its market presence.
Verto’s $1 million Milken-Motsepe win is more than a moment of recognition — it’s a call to action for global investors, founders, and regulators to bet on scalable solutions emerging from Africa.
As Anthony O. put it, “Let this be a signal to every founder solving real problems — keep going. The world is watching.”
