Seedstars World, an initiative launched by seedstars SA, a Swiss-based company is returning to Uganda a few months from now on August 1st. The announcement comes just weeks after it announced winners for its global summit.
Uganda was represented by Akiba, winner of last year's Seedstars Kampala held at Outbox in which 10 other Ugandan startups participated. These were; Aloyo Technologies, Soundbooklet, Dusupay, MamboPay, DmarkMobile, Solar Freedom Africa, Xeno Technologies, Pany, Kwiksy and Kazzi Corp Technology.
The 2015 edition was won by Intership after out-competing other startups like Exact and clear, Yoza, Commonsense, Roundbob, Krobits, Health Portal Uganda, Tikiti, Wizarts Media, Yaakaa Digital Network, and SafeBoda.
The objective of the competition is to find the best startup in emerging markets and promote entreprenuership and technology. The competition covers over 65 countries and gives an opportunity to startups to pitch their ideas to a selected jury per country. The winner then represents their country at the global summit held in Switzerland where they stand a chance to win part of the $1 Million coveted prize in equity funding.
However, according to the official communication on Seedstars website, the exact dates are still subjects to change. Details on participation are yet to be communicated. If you plan on participating this year, here are a few things you should know:
- The Startup must have been launched within the last 2 years.
- If the Startup has received external funding, it can only be up to US$ 500,000.
- The Startup must have a demonstrable product or service (Minimum Viable Product, MVP).
- The Startup needs to be scalable or have the potential to reach the scalability.
Launched in 2013 by Alisée de Tonnac, Seedstars World is one of the flagship activities for Seedstars. Some of its other activities include Seedstars academy, seedstarslabs, seedstarsgrowth, seedstars summit, seedstars agency, seedstars fund and seedspace.
It is worth noting that Seedstars' Associate Anis and Seedstars' Africa Regional Manager Claudia will be touring the continent.
Winners for the 2017 Seedstars were REDOXIGEN and Democrance. The finalists from Africa were Tanzania's Jamii / EdgePoint Digital Ltd and Kasha from Rwanda.