Winners of Nedbank N*ovation Data and Analytics Masters Challenge announced
The winners of the Nedbank N*ovation Data and Analytics Masters Challenge 2026 have been revealed by South Africa’s Nedbank after weeks of intense online competition and a live final in Johannesburg.
The goal of the national Data and Analytics Challenge is to find and hire the most skilled data and analytics professionals in South Africa. This year’s competition culminated in a live competition where finalists were evaluated on their capacity to resolve challenging, real-world banking issues.
Mogale Thobejane became victorious in the data engineering track, followed by Tinashe Chinyati and Tshifhiwa Gift Moila. Edward Rycroft took first place in the data science and machine learning track, followed by Alex Jacobs and Vusani Khosa. Prize money totaling ZAR500,000 (US$30,000) was divided among competitors.
A quicker hiring procedure for top performers will highlight the bank’s continuous commitment in developing data and analytics capabilities that are ready for the future. The challenge may immediately link top talent with professional possibilities through partnerships like OfferZen, Zindi, Otinga, and Microsoft.
“This challenge is about more than competition, it reflects our belief that data excellence is a strategic capability, and this challenge was a novel one with a positive outcome demonstrated by the level of quality on display at the challenge,” said Nedbank Group technology executive Thando Lukhele.
