An educational technology (edtech) startup, Cubbes, has taken home the ₦30 million star prizes at Zeckathon 5.0, Techeconomy can report.
Zeckathon 5.0 is the fifth edition of Zenith Bank’s annual hackathon competition and incubation programme held on November 20 2025, and designed to discover and empower early-stage Nigerian tech startups.
This year’s programme offered a total prize pool of ₦140 million, bringing together developers, entrepreneurs, and visionary innovators committed to driving Africa’s digital transformation.
The flagship innovation challenge featured two key components this year, Zeckathon and the newly introduced Business Pitch.
Meanwhile, Trustloop emerged as the first-ever winner of the Business Pitch category, also smiling home with ₦30 million as the top prize.
Zeckathon 5.0
Zeckathon is designed to empower startups and creators to transform bold ideas into real-world solutions.
Cubbes, the winner of this year’s edition, emerged tops among five finalists. The startup is an Antler Lagos–backed edtech platform launched in 2024.
Using AI tutors, flashcards, smart planners, and other intelligent learning tools, Cubbes helps university students organise course materials and improve academic performance.
The platform has already reached over 60,000 students across more than 100 institutions in Nigeria and Uganda, with early users reporting over 50% improvement in grades.
Other finalists – Venilles, Sowota, InvoPay and Flow, each received ₦10 million.
Business Pitch Debut
Zenith Bank introduced a new platform at its Tech Fair – FUTURE FORWARD 5.0 to enable more startups pitch to investors.
The platform, known as Business Pitch, produced Trustloop as the inaugural winner with a ₦30 million mega prize.
Other finalists – Konfam, The Very Hacked Men, Zenith IntelliScore, and Zerax received ₦10 million each.
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, joined Dr. Jim Ovia, Founder of Zenith Bank, and Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, GMD/CEO, at the Tech Fair themed “Future Forward: Tech for Success – Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate” to present cheques to the winners.
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu:
“The theme encourages us to stay curious, learn quickly, and use technology to open new doors. It was inspiring to see so many young talents at the hackathon and startup pitch competition. Beyond the cash prizes, the finalists will enter a mentorship and incubation programme to refine their ideas, scale up, and grow.”
He added:
“I believe deeply in our youth, and this is exactly how we build a stronger and more innovative future.”