On October 27th, 10 of Zimbabwe’s most promising seed-stage startups will compete to represent the country at the Regional and Global Seedstars Summits and to win up to USD 1 million in equity investments and other prizes.
- Commonground is a peer-networking app that connects university students to share projects, ideas, and opportunities.
- Badala helps online businesses to receive payments using a Direct Mobile Billing driven wallet and payment gateway
- Equities Nest.org is a platform will help you get started on the African stock markets with a few clicks
- FundoLinker has created a platform where schools, companies, skilled people and donors meet to overcome skill building challenges
- JMP Africa Company’s focus is on the development of energy access to developing urban and rural communities in Africa and offering onsite generation solutions
- Munch is a tech based, logistics, online food ordering company that connects hungry food lovers with local restaurants in their city.
- myRunnerOver a million people travel by bus each month, our vision is to change the way bus travel is experienced and make it easier and safer
- Shirishanu Promoplus is the first SMS and social media platform in Zimbabwe that is fully cloud-based. The system is cheaper and easy to set up.
- Tipster is democratising the news making process by placing the power of the media into the hands of the ordinary people.
- Plan My Wedding is a platform that allows couples to plan and manage their wedding from logistics to invitations and costs all in one place
In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and aiming to deliver the best possible event, Seedstars World is closely working with Impact Hub Harare, who is representing the initiative throughout the year. “The first Zimbabwean Seedstars World Event in 2016 added value to our Impact Hub community and greater local ecosystem.” Said Tadzoka Pswarayi, Co-Founder of Impact Hub Harare. “Being part of a global movement of emerging market innovation ignited local startups and resulted in the emergence of new innovations that have the potential to deeply impact our communities. The event created symbiotic benefit between local and international entrepreneurs and investors.
Beyond the local event, Seedstars World is working very closely with Enel Green Power to source the most innovative business models in the energy sectors and ones that are fostering socio-economic development in rural villages in Africa. Up to 5 best startups in this sector will be invited for an exclusive RES4Africa networking event and compete for an Africa Energy Prize which consists of a financial contribution and a three-month acceleration programme for a total value of up to $50,000.
The event was made possible thanks to the support provided by Impact Hub Harare, our local partner UNDP, our regional partners Orange, Enel Green Power, Merck, VC4A and Microsoft 4Afrika and our local supporters Dande Mutande and Elegant Grind.
The Members of the public are encouraged to come join the fun and will be treated to the 10 startup pitches. Registrations for the event can be made on the Seedstars Website: https://www.seedstarsworld.com/event/seedstars-harare-2017
7 comments
The top 10 look interest indeed.
aah, thats a very much lovely indeed list, its lovelovey tooo much!
Have found Equities Nest very interesting and practical! whats driving local shares??
Thr are bettr projects tht can win th prize,but ther is a problem tht i hv noticed,wen we talk bou Zimbabwe totaura Harare alone
Hi Arno, I am Johnson Founder of JMP Africa a finalist at the competition. Tipster a Civic Tech startup had to travel all the way from Bulawayo to Harare to contest.
Now as for there being a better list of competitors outside of Harare you have to consider that Impact Hub Harare was not part of the Selection Process, Seedstars Africa was. The Seedstars team travel from country to country, they select start up according to their own criteria I don’t even know what that is.
Another thing is did the “other” better startups apply for the event?
I personally am trying to change not just our Zimbabwe but Africa as a whole. If you look at the JMP Africa website you will find that the technologies we are brining in will help develop education, health, economic growth and much more. You need electrical power, you need your waste collected at your door and you need to have fuel to travel in our automobiles for energy day like car or kombi.
None of these technologies are currently being applied in Zimbabwe or Africa as a whole, while 600 million people in Africa suffer from energy poverty causing rape, disease and even death.
Haven’t heard of any of the those except Munch. Zimbabwean startups only seem to surface when funding opportunities arise, and then disappear soon afterwards till the next pitch comes around.
FundoLinker, http://www.fundolinker.com, started in January 2016. We bring together schools, companies, skilled people and donors to provide career guidance, financial help, information and jobs to students. FundoLinker connects students to schools, universities, companies, veterans of the industry, and donors for better education and employment opportunities. We were endorsed by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary education in September 2017 having built a strong network of parents, guardians, students, trainers and crowd donors. We are now rolling out FundoLinker to schools thanks to the crucial endorsement from the Ministry. We are coming to your companies as we implore them to build their future employees and future customers. I am also pleading with you to join FundoLinker and become a crowd scholarship donor. If you are a veteran of the industry like me you can teach students from the FundoLinker community for they are desperate of your training, mentorship and networking. Let us build skills together. Yeah, FundoLinker is here to stay. I, Charles Chigoriwa, the cofounder and head of community of FundoLinker, I am wholeheartedly committed to FundoLinker. FundoLinker – building skills together.