Mbora, GreenFingers Mobile and EMG Technologies won the pre-selection round of Seedstars World. (image: startups.com)
On June 8, during Seedstars West Cape, Mbora, GreenFingers Mobile and EMG Technologies won the pre-selection round of Seedstars World and will advance to the South Africa grand final to compete with the best startups in the country on the 29th of June, in Johannesburg, at the Standard Bank Incubator in Rosebank.
The South African competition is carried out with the support of local lead partner, Standard Bank and local ambassador Entrepreneur Traction. Additional support is provided by regional partner Merck and local partners Payfast, Spin Street House, and Workshop 17. In addition, the Seedstars World South Africa production has received tremendous support from local ecosystem players such as Impact Amplifier, Silicon Cape, Goodwell investments, Thundafund, Brimstone, and New Ventures Studio amongst others.
“Our congratulations to the first round of finalists. We are proud to be partnering on an initiative that recognises the innovativeness of entrepreneurs across South Africa and we are thrilled with the quality of submissions, the pitches of the Entrepreneurs and the winners of West Cape. We look forward to welcoming everyone in Johannesburg.” says Jayshree Naidoo, Head of Incubator at Standard Bank.
The top three startups from West Cape that advance to the grand finale are EMG Technologies which solves a critical problem for medical professionals by aggregating medical content from regional experts in one app, GreenFingers Mobile, a mobile first Software-as-a-Service technology platform to finance and manage large groups of smallholder farmers and mbora, a solar-powered IoT-enabled sensing suite that delivers real-time visibility to a service provider across its entire network. The other startups invited to pitch were Arts Alternative, Dietnostix, Hi5, Jumpin Rides (Pty) Ltd , MCX Technologies, Regenize, Timu Trust, Yoummday (Pty) Ltd
The top three startups will be invited to the Johannesburg final where they will compete with the best startups from all parts of the country, of which one will be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars World South Africa 2017.
“Last year, we kicked off our entire tour in Cape Town. It was great to see so many new faces, from the startups that pitched to the audience and ecosystem players. We are curious to see which entrepreneur from what ecosystem will represent South Africa this year.” says Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager of Africa.
The 11 startups pitched in front of a jury that consisted of Johan Bosini, Venture Partner at Quona Capital, Mvikeli Hlophe, Managing Executive at Brimstone , Chris Louw, Regional Manager at National Empowerment Fund, Linda Swart, Incubation Manager at Standard Bank and Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager at Seedstars World.
Moreover, Seedstars World has partnered with the Merck Accelerator on a regional level, in order to support seed-stage companies with a focus on the fields of healthcare, life science and performance materials. The most promising HealthTech startups will receive office space in the Merck Innovation Center in Kenya or Germany, mentoring and coaching on a regular basis and financial support of up to €50,000. In total, each prize package is worth around €200,000.
In addition, Seedspace Cape Town is awarding a free membership package tailored to the startup team who wins the public choice prize. Seedspace Cape Town is now based at Spin Street House, a coworking space for individuals and teams doing interesting, innovative and impactful work. This popular workspace founded in 2013 in the heart of the city, connects and supports an inspiring community and network of startups, entrepreneurs, and talents across multiple industries.
Continuing on its world tour of startup ecosystems in emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, Seedstars World’s next stop will be in Maputo, Mozambique before returning to South Africa. The winners from the Johannesburg and Cape Town Satellite events, as well as 3 wildcard startups, will be invited to compete at the grand final on June 29th to become the national winner of South Africa. However, startups from across the country are encouraged to apply. Applications are still open and startups can apply here:
Staff Writer