Fascano wins $40,000 Visa Everywhere Initiative prize

Fascano wins $40,000 Visa Everywhere Initiative prize

Muscat – Omani app Fascano, which allows food and beverage merchants to create customised digital menus, has won the Saudi Arabia edition of 2023 Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global innovation programme and competition for startups and fintech companies.

The second year of the Saudi Arabia edition of VEI was open to fintech companies in Saudi Arabia and, for the first time, Oman and Bahrain.

An in-person final event was held in Riyadh on June 14, where the shortlisted fintechs from the three countries competed for monetary prizes, and access to Visa’s vast networks of partners in banking, merchant, and government sectors.

Fascano won first place among Oman-based fintechs and prize money of RO15,000 (US$40,000).

Founded in 2019, Fascano – or ‘fast, scan, order’ – is an app that allows food and beverage merchants to create customised digital menus through QR code. Customers can place their orders and pay from their phone. For merchants, the app provides smart solutions for order tracking, kitchen insights, and business management.

This year’s edition of VEI also introduced an Impact Award for the competitor whose solution has a positive social impact on local communities. Examples include initiatives that boost financial inclusion, promote sustainability or safeguard the environment.

Saudi-based Lamaa –