The Seedstars global early-stage startups competition is currently on and has already hosted events across Africa this year in which winners have emerged in Mozambique, Tunisia, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal.
The latest in this group is Cameroun where E-health startup GiftedMom has emerged first ever winner of Cameroon’s version of the competition held last weekend. The startup stands the chance to pitch for up to US$1 million in equity investment at the global final in Switzerland next April.
Seedstars held its inaugural event in Douala, Cameroon last Friday at the ActivSpaces incubator, where 11 startups presented their ideas in front of a local jury panel.
GiftedMom was chosen as the overall winner for its service that democratises access to health information in emerging markets through an AI-based remote medical support platform. GiftedMom is a leading mobile health solutions provider in Africa. It leverages last mile technologies to provide pregnant women and new mothers access to health information and strengthen linkages to antenatal care with the goal of achieving a world free of maternal and infant deaths
It will now participate at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April 2018, where it will take part in a week-long training programme alongside other winners and pitch in front of investors and mentors from around the world.
Save Our Agriculture, which makes urban aquaponics units to help small rural producers cope with logistical problems, came second, while Viki, which generates companies’ leads from social media platforms, was third. Another e-health startup, AlloDoc, won the public vote.
The other startups pitch were Bridge Africa Ventures, Cloomify, Drone Africa, Guanxi Investment, iDjangui, MyExpressTicket and Ratagrab.
The eleven startups pitched in front of a prestigious jury: Anthony Same from ST Digital, Eric Niat from AppsTech, Ghislaine Tessa from Millenium Immobilier, Serge Ntamack from Microsoft, Bertrand Tiotsop from Publicity and Design, and Anis Kallel from Seedstars World.
In another development, Seedstars World is also 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 taking place later this November in Nairobi 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.
Continuing on its world tour of startup scenes in emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, Seedstars World’s next stop is Kigali to select the best startup in Rwanda. Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and/or develop profitable products for the global market.
