Financial innovation: The "Mule Hunters" team will win the 1st edition of the CIF-DigiCoop-WA+ national Hackathon in Senegal

The Confederation of Financial Institutions of West Africa (CIF) has officially closed the first national edition of its DigiCoop-WA+ 2026 Innovation Hackathon. After an intense 72-hour competition, the Mule Hunters team won the title of National Grand Winner thanks to its digital solution called "Mule-Hunt", designed to strengthen compliance in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation (AML/CFT/FP).

Technological solutions to the challenges of microfinance

Organized with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), this event aimed to design effective digital tools around two priority areas: regulatory compliance and automated scoring for microcredit. Out of 65 applications received, ten teams comprising 36 young talents were selected for the final phase.

The jury praised the technical relevance and operational impact of the projects presented:

. 1st Prize (Grand Winner): The Mule Hunters team receives a grant of 1,500,000 FCFA and secures its ticket to the regional final.

. 2nd Prize: The M4TECH team was awarded a prize of 750,000 FCFA.

. 3rd Prize: The COOP SENTINEL team was awarded a prize of 500,000 FCFA.

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Heading towards the regional final in Ouagadougou

“Digital technology is neither a luxury nor a passing trend. The CIF is betting on talent and innovation to build the solutions of tomorrow,” stressed Dr. Mathieu Soglonou, Director General of the CIF.

After Burkina Faso and Senegal, the competition program will continue in Togo, Benin, and Mali. The winning teams from each national stage will meet in Ouagadougou at the end of October 2026 to compete for the title of Regional Grand Winner.

As a leading umbrella institution, the CIF brings together six cooperative networks in the WAEMU zone — including the UM-PAMECAS network in Senegal — and now serves more than 5.7 million members.