The New x Payaza Presents

FIVE TEAMS. SEVEN DAYS. ONE STAGE.

The Fusion Hack Demo Day is happening on Saturday 3rd October 2026 in Lagos. Five teams have seven days to build something real on live payment infrastructure. On D day, they launch it in front of you.

Free entry. Doors Open by 9am

No ticket cost. No dress code

YOU DECIDE ONE OF THE WINNERS

Six judges pick the winners of the $20,000 prize pool. But the People’s Choice is voted live, from audience like You!

MOST PEOPLE WILL READ ABOUT IT ON MONDAY

There’s a version of this weekend where you see a thirty-second clip of the winning team on Monday morning, and a version where you were in the room when the result was read out. Same event. Very different story to tell.

OUR MENTORS

INDUSTRY EXPERTS WHO HAVE BUILT WHAT THESE TEAMS ARE ATTEMPTING

Ruth Okoli

Cofounder and Head of Marketing/Growth, at Nestuge

Cornelius Ashley-Osuzoka

Engineering Manager, Developer Experience at Flutterwave

Lede Adeniyi

Founder, DULA Studios

John Akinola

Technical Team Lead Internal Tools and Developer Excellence at Payaza

Oluwabamise Alo

Lead Product Manager at Flutterwave

Chibuzor Obilom

Head, Quality & Process Engineering at Passpoint

WHO'S BEHIND THIS

TWO ORGANIZATIONS. ONE THESIS.

The New Church recently opened The New Fusion Centre – a permanent space for builders, innovators and creatives, not just for church services. Payaza is one of the largest payments company in Africa. Both of us think the same thing: there are too few founders in this market shipping tools their peers can actually use, and the bottleneck isn’t talent.

The Fusion Hack is how we start doing something about it. One of us brings the room, the community, and the mentors. The other brings the payment rails and the technology. Between us, we can launch the next unicorns out of Africa.

IF YOU BUILD

Build something that matters.

FOR EVERYONE ELSE

Come and Experience Faith-Driven Innovation

YOU DON'T NEED A REASON TO BE THERE

BUT HERE ARE 3 REASONS

YOU BUILD THINGS

Five teams, seven days, live infrastructure. You’ll know within two minutes whether what they shipped is any good, and the mentors who got them there are in the room.

YOU'RE WORKING OUT WHAT'S NEXT

This is what the work actually looks like, up close, with the questions and the pressure included. Cheaper than a course and shorter than a degree.

SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS ON THAT STAGE

Then be there. Seven days of their life ends in twenty minutes on Saturday, and they’ll look for you in the seats.

THE PRIZES

CASH, SPACE AND THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT MATTERS MOST

The cash is real. So is the residency. But the most valuable thing you can win here is warm introductions to the people who can help you keep going.

1ST

$10,000

$10,000 in cash. Three months of studio space at The New Fusion Centre, no rent. A direct access intro to Payaza's product and engineering community and academy.

2ND

$5,000

$5,000 in cash. One months of co-working access at the Fusion Centre. Continued time with the mentor pool through year-end.

3RD

$2,500

$2,500 in cash. Three months of 1:1 mentorship with a senior operator we match to your problem.

Best Design

For the team whose product actually feels well-crafted. Design is what turns a demo you remember into a product a stranger would trust.

People's Choice

Voted by the audience on Demo Day. The team whose story lands hardest with the people in the room.

Best Social Impact

For the team whose tool would most concretely change life for a real community of African creators.