Three South African startups advance to Seedstars national finals

Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup ecosystems, brought its third pre-selection round to a close during its Cape Town event, specifically targeting startups in the Western Cape. The 11 startups were invited to present their ideas in four-minute presentations in front of a jury panel.

The top three startups will head to the Johannesburg final on 29 June 2017 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.

Top three startups

• EMG Technologies solves a critical problem for medical professionals by aggregating medical content from regional experts in one app.
  
• GreenFingers Mobile is a mobile-first software-as-a-service technology platform to finance and manage large groups of smallholder farmers.
  
• Mbora is a solar-powered IoT-enabled sensing suite that delivers real-time visibility to a service provider across its entire network.

The other startups who pitched were Arts Alternative, Dietnostix, Hi5, Jumpin Rides, MCX Technologies, Regenize, Timu Trust, and Yoummday.

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.

“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.

Seedstars Mozambique

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 12 startups that are selected to participate at the Seedstars World Maputo 2017 pitching event taking place tomorrow, 14 June 2017, are:

• Supevy: A platform that highlights good products and services close by, with prices and customer reviews.
  
• buycomz: An e-commerce platform for international luxury products with free shipping and easy payment capabilities.
  
• CrimeDown: A USSD and mobile platform aiming to reduce crime and protect citizens by providing resources to locate police stations and report cases of assault or accidents easily.
  
• Dream Solutions Enterprise: An event management platform that provides innovative services from event promotion and online tickets sales, to the creation of reports and real-time tracking.
  
• Fakul: An education platform, offering a cheap and fun way to get students ready for University Admission Exams in just 20 days.
  
• Karingana Wa Karingana Textiles: A platform aiming to revolutionise the African textile market by offering brands customised prints produced on demand in small quantities.
  
• Kharin,Lda: A platform that promotes and advertises tourism and culture in Mozambique. It also helps tourists make the most of their local experience.
  
• Olenvo: An e-Learning platform that brings people who want to teach and those who want to learn, making the learning process more personalised, open and flexible.
  
• Publiaki: LavaMe is a mobile app for an eco-friendly carwash service that does the custom service scheduling and uses no water.
  
• Side: An education platform that can help connect parents and tutors to improve education quality and provide additional resources for students to learn.
  
• TABECH SERVICOS E.I: MóvelCare is a virtual mobile insurance service that uses mobile phones to access funeral insurance without the use of internet.
  
• Tech4Kids Academy: An education platform targeting African children, especially girls, and aiming to use technology to provide learning opportunities at an early age.

The winners from the Johannesburg and Cape Town Satellite events, as well as three wildcard startups, will be invited to compete in the grand final on 29 June 2017 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.

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.