The top SA startups advancing to Seedstars national finale

South Africa was previously represented by Giraffe, who was crowned the 'Seedstars World Global Winner 2015' for their innovative solution to reduce unemployment in emerging markets. “The award has given us massive exposure, which is something we really need, and there are a lot of investors and potential partners contacting us in order to collaborate. But this award is not only affecting Giraffe, it’s also putting South Africa on the map,” says Shafin Anwarsha, co-founder of Giraffe.

The top startups to advance to the grand final are:

● Crew Pencil: An online crew booking and diary service for the film industry that allows diary, bookings and invoicing all in one.
● Pargo: A convenient logistics solution that lets customers collect and return their parcels at a local store when it suits them best.
● WumDrop: It allows people to pick up and drop off anything with the click of a button.
● Guardian Angel Safety Solution: A GPS tracking product that offers an affordable personal safety solution for children, adults, elderly, and even pets.
● You, Baby and I: An online platform that allows moms to experience brands by matching them to location and interests.
● Vitls: The startup building a revolutionary wearable medical device for homes and hospitals, allowing vitals to be monitored continuously and undisturbed from anywhere.
● Sortd: A communication-centric organiser that transforms email and instant messaging into a set of organised to-do lists.
● UmoyAir Communications: A provider of free calls from mobile phones to any number without airtime or data.
● Riovic: A micro-insurer that provides digital and P2P insurance backed by crowdfunding.

In addition, Seedstars World has decided to introduce a wildcard, and will invite one additional startup to compete in Johannesburg.

The startups will pitch in front of a jury that consist of Jayshree Naidoo, head of incubator at Standard Bank; Polo Radebe, chief executive officer at IDF; Ravi Naidoo, executive director for economic development and tourism at City of Johannesburg; Charmaine Padayachy, principal at Omidyar Network; Fritz Milosevic, managing partner at Dotadvisors; and Marcello Schermer, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.

Seedstars World is working with Standard Bank for the event, which will be hosted at the bank’s incubator in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Further support for the finals in Johannesburg is provided by partners Entrepreneur Traction, Omidyar Network, Payfast, Glocell, Red Bull, Dot Advisors, and Duo Marketing. In addition Seedstars World has partnered with TRECC to bring the 'Transforming Education Prize' which will award the best startup in the education space from around the world with a prize of over $50,000.