Global seed stage startup competition, Seedstars World, is returning to Africa to discover the best seed-stage entrepreneurs. During the tour, Seedstars will visit 20 countries and host bootcamps and pitch competitions. At the end of the competition, the best startup in each country gets the opportunity to compete at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland for the chance to win $1 million in equity investment and additional prizes.
This is the fourth edition edition of the tour and the previous three have been successful in line with Seedstars’ mission to exhibit the best startups from emerging countries. This year’s tour will include countries such as Mali, Zimbabwe and Sudan to give access to a wider scope of African startups. “After three years of identifying incredible entrepreneurs across the continent we have seen over and over again that African startups are competitive on a global level. This is why we are expanding the number of countries we are targeting this year while also offering a more structured support and acceleration program for all winners at the end of the tour” says Marcello Schermer, Regional Manager for Africa at Seedstars World.
Last years’ edition saw South African startup, Giraffe, emerge as the Global winner, winning the the equity investment prize. This year’s tour will commence on the 13th of May with the first being held in Maputo, Mozambique.
Beginning today, Seedstars World will accept applications from startups through their website. Countries eligible for the competition are Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia.
The companies applying need to be less than 2 years old, have received less than USD 500,000 in funding, have an available MVP and the potential to scale regionally and globally.
