Shoprite’s money market app scoops top accolade as Most Innovative Solution

South African retailer, Shoprite scooped a major accolade during the awards ceremony organised by a mobile telephone operator, MTN.

Shoprite was an overall winner at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards 2022 on Thursday as the company bagged the biggest prize for its Money Market account application.

The retail group, Shoprite, also claimed the Most Innovative Solution award at the 11th installment of the annual awards, which recognises local app development talent.

According to ITWeb, the retail giant operating in Southern African countries such as Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, Shoprite’s mission is to uplift customers.

On behalf of Shoprite South Africa, Arthur Khosa, reaffirmed their mission and commitment to their clients.

“The Money Market account app is targeted at unbanked South Africa, providing customers with a low-cost bank account, which is almost free,” said Khosa.

“There are no monthly fees, no charges for deposits and there are no hidden fees – everything about us is very transparent.

“Our mission is to uplift lives and help customers make educated financial decisions fashionable.”

Also speaking at the awards ceremony, MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi stressed the importance of cultivating a “one household, one developer” ecosystem in the country.

“I’m going on a crusade to mobilise every CEO to drive one fundamental message that is ‘one household, one developer’ – that is what we want to drive to take our people out of poverty,” he said.

“If we can teach our people to develop programs for themselves, teach the young people of our country and mobilise them, we will be able to build a nation of developers by 2030.

“If you can develop code, you can start a business. If you can develop code, you can be an AI engineer, a cloud architect – that’s the mission I’m driving.”

Meanwhile, other winners on the night included service delivery reporting platform My Smart City, Old Mutual’s money management app 22seven, as well as the first Afrikaans matchmaking app, Koer.

The other category winners include:

Best “South African” Solution: Safety app Eyerus scooped this award. Eyerus – a play on the word iris – is an automated algorithm mobile app, designed to provide users with personal safety and security services.

Best Hackathon Solution: YabiSaba

Best Consumer Solution: Old Mutual-backed 22seven is a budgeting app that helps users to better manage their finances by providing a complete view of all their finance-related accounts on one platform.

Best Gaming Solution and Best Educational Solution: Recess

Best Incubated Solution: LayUp Payments is a payment solution that provides shoppers with the latest recurring payment methods in the market.

Main Image: Shoprite/Daily Maverick