Kampala, Uganda, September 29th, 2016 – Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, is returning to Uganda on the 30th of September to scout for the best entrepreneurs in technology.
In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 65 countries this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to USD 1 million, with the main prize being a 500.000 USD equity investment prize.
The event will take place at Outbox Hub with the startups to pitch to a panel of judges. The top startup will be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars World Kampala 2016. The Ugandan competition is carried out with the support of local lead partner, Stanbic Bank Uganda and local ambassador Outbox Hub.
“Expanding and diversifying the country’s revenue base is directly linked to enterprise development and growth. The selected startup that will represent Uganda in Geneva in 2017 will have the potential to not only win at the finals but also become key players in the national and international marketplace. As Stanbic Bank, we support the development of small businesses, as they have the potential to grow the economy, provide employment and bring innovation to the business community,” says Wayne Cook, Head of Business Banking at Stanbic Bank.
“Our collaboration with seedstars has gone beyond just putting Ugandan startups on the global stage. The relationships built from the network and exposure from seedstars is one of the best benefits I did not foresee. This has placed us in a unique position within the local market to extend these relations beyond seedstars participants to the general local ecosystem.” says Richard Zulu, co-founder at Outbox Hub.
The 11 startups that are selected to participate at the Seedstars World pitching event are:
- Aloyo Electronics Co. Ltd: A phone charging device that can be powered by the use of a motorcycle.
- Soundbooklet Ltd: Secure continuous water supply for more food production with remote data availability and smart garden control.
- DusuPay Ltd, DusuPay UK Ltd: A platform that wants streamlines how African businesses are paid online.
- Akiba / E-Savings Club Uganda: The company aims to transform finance by making it collective, granting people the tools for practical and transparent management of their finances.
- MamboPay Limited: A coupon-based payment solution used by clients to send funds to their beneficiaries in form of purpose-bound digital coupons.
- DmarkMobile: Location based marketing mobile and web platform connection people and places.
- Solar Freedom Africa Limited: A company that is selling affordable solar energy products which use an payment technology approach that can be used by both mobile and non-mobile phone users.
- Xeno Technologies: Online investment advisory platform to help people save for targeted financial goals.
- Panya: Panya leverages chatbot technology to enable local firms to market and transact products and services directly within Facebook Messenger.
- Kwiksy: the Company that lets you rediscover your sharable world.
- Kazzi Corp Technology: Offers an opportunity to small scale farmers to get access to cheap loans, manage finance and get access to Markets
“The ecosystem in Kampala is growing. We have found some very interesting and promising startups that deserve more visibility, exposure and attention from a global audience.” explains Selam Kebede, Associate for Seedstars World Africa.
Additional support is provided by Brussels Airlines , VC4Africa and Lionesses of Africa.
“We are excited to team up with the Seedstars local competition in Kampala, Uganda which will select best tech start-ups country-wide. As Brussels Airlines we’re proud to partner with Seedstars so we can support the winners by enrolling them in our TAKEOFF platform enabling them to further develop their business.” says Sebastiaan Spijkers, Country Manager for Uganda and South-Sudan.
All participating startups will qualify for two major prizes that Seedstars World is running this year: Together with TRECC Startups in Education qualify for the global “Transforming Education Prize” which will award the best startup in the education space from around the world with a prize of over USD 50,000. In addition, Seedstars World and Intel are collaborating on the “Intel Solutions Challenge” to find the best startups in Hardware, IoT, Cloud and Analytics with the goal of inviting them to a prestigious Demo Day with internal and external partners who will give access to market and funding for the best startups.
The event will be held on the 30th of September at Outbox Hub in Kampala. Attendees can register for free here: http://www.seedstarsworld.com/event/seedstars-Kampala-2016/
