Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in digital payments, in collaboration with Microsoft, hosted a Microsoft AI Skills Week Hackathon in Lagos, Nigeria, as part of their shared commitment to build practical AI capabilities within the financial services sector through compliance and innovation.
The multi-day program, which ran from May 26 to 30, brought together over 70 developers, as well as 150 CIOs, CTOs, and digital transformation leaders across the financial services sector for self-paced learning, live sessions, interactive workshops, and a hackathon centred on solving real-life challenges in fintech.
As part of ongoing efforts to equip developers and end users with the knowledge and hands-on experience needed to drive AI adoption, Microsoft’s AI Skills Week featured sessions led by Visa, TeKnowledge, and GitHub, where developers explored generative AI technologies, including Azure OpenAI and Semantic Kernel.
Participants of the five-hour hackathon designed AI-driven solutions using Agentic AI and Microsoft Copilot to address challenges around maintaining robust Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance within the financial service industry (FSI), which included solutions. Each demo was evaluated by a panel of fintech and AI experts, with the winning teams receiving mentorship and potential productization support to bring high-impact solutions to market.
“We are driven to support the next generation of fintech leaders in Nigeria and are proud to partner with Microsoft to catalyze technologies that are secure, inclusive, and built for scale,” said Andrew Uaboi, Vice President and Cluster Head, Visa West Africa. “By empowering local talent to harness generative AI and agentic systems, we aim to advance compliance innovation and reshape challenges in the financial services sector into competitive differentiators that reflect the unique needs of African markets. Our goal is to foster a fintech ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and ready for the future of digital finance.”
“The financial services industry in Nigeria stands as a beacon of innovation and a critical driver of economic growth. At Microsoft, we believe that nurturing upcoming talent is essential to sustaining this momentum and unlocking transformative possibilities for the sector. Through collaborative initiatives like AI Skills Week, we are committed to equipping developers, leaders, and innovators with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate the evolving landscape of digital finance. Together with Visa, we aim to empower Nigerian fintech professionals to lead with cutting-edge solutions that enhance compliance, elevate customer experiences, and drive financial inclusion, ensuring a future that is both agile and inclusive,” says Ola Williams, Managing Director, Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana.
This partnership underscores Microsoft and Visa’s commitment to nurture Africa’s growing fintech ecosystem. By equipping developers with AI competencies that align with industry standards and real-world applications, the program demonstrates how agentic innovation can bridge gaps between compliance, customer experience, and financial inclusion.
For more information about the Microsoft AI Skills Week, visit https://teknowledge.com/partnerships/microsoft/ai-skillsweek-nigeria/
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere, and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
