HitchPay, a fast-growing African payment platform, has launched a financial-inclusion initiative at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Iseyin, Oyo State, aimed at boosting digital financial literacy among newly enlisted corps members.
The Chief Operating Officer of HitchPay, Ms Eunice Bankole, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the company’s Corporate Communication Advisor, Emman Ozoemena.
According to Bankole, the initiative combined brand activation, a digital career fair, and sponsorship of two major camp events to engage and educate thousands of corps members.
She explained that during the brand-activation phase, HitchPay staff guided participants through instant app registration, seamless fund transfers, real-time transaction validation, and electronic receipt confirmation.
“We are bridging the gap for corps members who may be posted to underserved communities with limited or no access to banking services,” Bankole said.
She added that the digital career fair provided internship opportunities in software engineering, product design, management, customer success, and marketing.
“This aligns with our vision of transitioning young talent from campus into the technology ecosystem,” she noted, adding that the Oyo deployment marked the first phase of a planned nationwide rollout across all NYSC camps.
Bankole further disclosed that HitchPay sponsored the Miss Big, Bold and Beautiful pageant as well as the Culture and Carnival Day at the camp.
She said the Carnival Day featured cultural performances, a question-and-answer session on cross-border payments and dollar savings, and the distribution of branded promotional items. During the pageant, HitchPay conducted live demonstrations of cross-border payments, USD virtual cards, instant currency swaps, and subscription tools.
Ms Babarinde Ifela emerged winner of the pageant and received a cash prize of N25,000, while the first runner-up, Ms Aderinto Mistura, and second runner-up, Ms Olaosebikan Bolanle, received consolation prizes.
Bankole listed dignitaries at the event to include the NYSC Camp Director, Commandant Ikusemoro Taiye, as well as representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, NDLEA, NSCDC, the Community Development Service, and the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development department.
Also speaking, HitchPay’s Marketing Director, Ms Prisca Onyemaeme, said the partnership harnessed youthful energy to promote national cohesion while supporting seamless global payments in furtherance of Nigeria’s digital future.
Some corps members who participated in the programme said the initiative expanded their understanding of digital financial tools and opened their eyes to potential career opportunities within the technology sector.
