A Ugandan company M-SCAN was crowned as Sub-Saharan Africa’s Most Promising Startup at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018 held in Lagos, Nigeria.
TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield Africa Scheduled for Lagos, Nigeria
TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield Africa Competition sponsored by Facebook is scheduled to take place from December 11, 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria
Speed Read:
- Startups apply HERE for Startup Battlefield Africa 2018.
- Selected teams pitch live December 11 in Lagos in front of top investors & the global TC audience.
- One startup will take home $25,000 USD of equity-free prize money.
- More info via FAQ and eligibility criteria pages
TechCrunch is headed to Lagos, Nigeria to host their second Startup Battlefield Africa competition on December 11, 2018.
Last year, the first Startup Battlefield Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya where startups from across the continent highlighted how technology is optimizing supply chains, increasing access to education, strengthening farmers’ revenues and so much more.
Since the last Startup Battlefield Africa, the continent’s tech scene has continued to develop at a rapid pace. VC investment in African startups doubled between 2015-2017. Overall, there’s been an uptick in committed VC for Africa’s startups and accelerators, including $2.1 billion across at least four funds.
There are more than 300 tech hubs across the continent (and counting) that are building, supporting and bringing together African startups, mentors and innovators.
The organizers are looking for Sub-Saharan Africa’s best innovators, makers, and technology entrepreneurs to participate in TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018. They’re looking for startups most likely to produce an exit or IPO; startups of any kind may apply.
TechCrunch will host the event in Lagos in front of a live audience and top judges, and the show will be covered on TechCrunch.
The judges will choose a winner, “Sub-Saharan Africa’s Most Promising Startup,” whose founders will win US$25,000 in no-equity cash plus a trip for two to compete in the Battlefield at TechCrunch’s flagship event, Disrupt 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time). Applications are open now and you can submit your startup here.
Criteria and Eligibility for Qualifying startups
- Be early-stage companies in “launch” stage
- Be a resident of their eligible countries
- Have a fully working product/beta, reasonably close to or in production
- Have received limited press or publicity to date
- Have no known intellectual property conflicts
Winning Prize
Apart from the exposure that comes from pitching to the global TechCrunch audience as well as the live audience of distinguished technologists, entrepreneurs and investors in Lagos, the overall winner will receive US$25,000 in no-equity cash plus an all-expense paid trip for two to compete in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch’s flagship event, Disrupt 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).
Continue reading more here……
Ghana's Saya Mobile at TechCrunch Disrupt With African Innovation.
Co-founders Robert Lamptey and Badu Boahen of Saya Mobile pitched their messaging startup Saya Mobile at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference currently on-going in San Francisco, California yesterday highlighting the potential of African innovations to an international audience.
The Saya Mobile App is for texting which mixes SMS, Facebook chat and hyperlocal findability to get in conversations with those near you. They’re currently on Android, Blackberry and waiting for their iPhone app to be approved. In Asia and Africa alone, Saya Mobile estimates that there are 580 million — with upwards of 70 percent of them on Internet-enabled devices, many of them not smartphones.
The Street-Chat feature enables people in one location to chat in real-time, making virtual meetings a thing of the past instead of using ordinary SMS which is very expensive in today’s world.
According to Robert; in today’s emerging market, SMS subscriptions are PAYG [Pay As You Go] which isn’t ideal for business therefore, they are using their innovation to make SMS more beautiful and sexy for the 5.8 billion NON-smartphones in the world.
Related articles
- Watch TechCrunch Disrupt SF Live! (techcrunch.com)
- TechCrunch Disrupt SF – Jack Dorsey (verelo.com)
- Techcrunch Disrupt SF 2012 (storify.com)