WATCH: In Conversation with the Visa Everywhere Initiative Winner 2023

Since 2015, the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) has been a launching pad for start-ups, offering them a global platform to showcase their innovative solutions that are reshaping the future of payments and commerce. To date, the program has helped start-ups from over 100 countries collectively raise more than USD $16 billion in funding, addressing one of the biggest challenges faced by early-stage entrepreneurs.

Last year, Thrive Agric, an innovative Nigerian Agritech startup committed to empowering smallholder farmers through finance, advanced technology, and efficient distribution, won the Global VEI Competition. This year, we expanded our reach in CEMEA and hosted local competitions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa.

For the second consecutive year, a Nigerian startup emerged as the 2023 Global VEI Winner and bagged the "Audience Favorite" Award. Drugstoc – an e-health pharmaceutical distribution startup – outperformed finalists from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific.

In this video, Otto Williams, Visa's Senior Vice President & Head of Products, Partnerships, and Digital Solutions for CEMEA and Chibuzo Opara, Co-Founder & CEO, Drugstoc, discuss how Drugstoc is unlocking access to high-quality pharmaceutical products in emerging markets – and Visa's role in supporting the next generation of payment technology providers.