25 African tech startups advance in Seedstars World Competition 2020

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From over 5,000 applicants, 94 tech startups from emerging markets were selected to advance to the regional stage of the competition. The local winners are set to represent their respective countries as they compete for a spot at the Global Finale, where the grand prize is $500K in funding.

“During this unusual year for everyone, I am proud to say that we managed to identify the most promising startups in 94 emerging markets. The online format of the competition allowed us to dream and go bigger as we reached a larger audience and invited more startups from all the cities of each country to apply. Now, we can’t wait for our local winners to represent their countries in the webisodes of the regional stage of the competition. I’d like to invite everyone to follow their journey and root for their favorite startup from the different corners of the world,” shares Eugenia Shevchenko, lead of the Seedstars World Competition 2020.

Seedstars, the Swiss-based private company with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets, annually holds the Seedstars World Competition to continuously scout for the most promising startups around the Asia, Africa, CEE, MENA, and LATAM regions. This year, 94 ecosystems were included in the online open call for applications. From there, 1,200 startups participated in the Online Seedstars Academy, a training program for entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and receive mentorship from industry experts around the world.

The next phase of the competition takes the local winners to the regional stage. From the regionals, 10 startups will receive $50,000 in growth program investment as well as the chance to compete at the Grand Finale for a shot at the Global Winner prize of $50,000 in equity investment.

For the Africa region, these are the 25 startups moving on to the next stage:

• SOCIA (Angola) - An app that allows people to buy a product by sharing the account and the product in equal parts.
  
• Dial-a-skill (Botswana) - Dial-a-Skill is a labor-to-market connectivity platform that provides on demand labour services.
  
• HMO-Africa (Burundi) - Provides healthcare services to the entire population and those living in the most remote villages and the poorest communities.
  
• RESERMAR CV Reservas Online (Cabo Verde) - An integrated platform of approved services in Cape Verde based on maritime transports and related activities
  
• AIT Group (Cameroon) - Brings all stakeholders on board to build the next unicorn venture with SMART disease detection/rapid diagnostics in real-time.
  
• Astech-Congo - Umoja Funding (DRC) - A participative financing platform to bring together investors and project leaders.
  
• Rohobot Home Based Health Care Service P.L.C (Ethiopia) - Provides quality home-based healthcare services for chronic illness and aged peoples with skilled health professionals at affordable prices.
  
• Innovarx Global Health (Gambia) - IGH is positioned to revolutionize the healthcare delivery system in the Gambia with a technology-based clinical infusion of services.
  
• CodeLn (Ghana) - CodeLn helps companies swiftly hire verified African Programmers
  
• CAPTURE Solutions COTE d'IVOIRE (Ivory Coast) - Provides the best ICT operational agri-supply management system in Africa.
  
• Zydii (Kenya) - End-to-end online and offline digital learning solution tailored for African businesses
  
• Neytech Solutions (Malawi) - Offers a mobile computer lab that schools will not be required to own but can use accordingly.
  
• Denko Kunafoni (Mali) - A platform that sensitizes and gives health advice to women, pregnant women, and to babies up to 5 years.
  
• BrillantTS Africa [C32-PEX] (Mauritius) - The next generation alternate digital payment and open banking platform and mobile app for the next billion underbanked and unbanked.
  
• BioMec (Mozambique) - Enables people to experience life with possibilities by building high performance bionic prosthetics from plastic collected from the oceans.
  
• Tasked Technology Solution CC (Namibia) - An app that helps people save time and money by setting the price and empowering others through delegation.
  
• Ladda (Nigeria) - Ladda democratizes access to investment for retail investors backed up by financial literacy
  
• Octan group (Rwanda) - A modern application that automates meal ordering and tracking services within a restaurant and offers a food pickup option.
  
• Keys Job (Senegal) - A tripartite networking platform for companies, training schools and job seekers.
  
• OPower Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone) - An e-Learning system that blends both radio and TV, online and offline.
  
• Zindi (South Africa) - Zindi is a data science marketplace connecting the supply and demand for data science solutions and talent.
  
• Flamingoo Foods Company Ltd (Tanzania) - Using cutting-edge climate tech, Flamingo Foods forecasts food deficit and surplus areas before they are known and proactively react to food insecurity.
  
• Ridelink Limited (Uganda) - Re-imagines how SMEs move both goods and people by connecting these businesses to professional drivers using technology
  
• Sparco Inc. (Zambia) - Provides tools to allow businesses to collect money from their customers anywhere and also have access to a pool of delivery companies.
  
• Phenemenon tech (Zimbabwe) - A portable science lab on your phone for science students across Africa.

Seedstars Africa regional manager, Lorraine Davis shares, “It has been inspiring seeing entrepreneurs from across the region soldier on through the pandemic and continue to work hard on their solutions. We have met incredible entrepreneurs and are excited to see them competing at the regional stage for a chance to be at the Seedstars Grande Finale in 2021. We wish all the local winners the best of luck for the regional stage competition.”

The regional stage of the competition will include a one-month-long Investment Readiness Program, modernized and personalized program helping startups get investment ready. It will consist of: action-driven webinars on key business metrics; online office hours, where startups can discuss challenges they are facing; domain groups and 1-on-1 mentoring sessions; investor meetings for potential funding opportunities; and peer-to-peer learning and networking sessions.

Online episodes for the regional stage of the competition will be aired at the end of January 2021. Viewers will get to see each local winner pitch in front of the juries and learn more about each of the teams’ startup stories. At the end of each episode, the regional winners moving on to the Global Finale in March 2021 will be announced.

For more on the Seedstars World Competition 2020, visit https://seedsta.rs/38BbeDW.