Ten promising startups have been selected to compete in the African final of the Latitude59 competition. The winner of this regional final will earn the opportunity to pitch at the main event in Tallinn, Estonia, vying for a prize pool of €1 million (US$1.1 million).
The 12th edition of Latitude59, Estonia’s premier startup and tech event, took place in Tallinn in May, drawing over 3,500 attendees, including more than 900 startup representatives and nearly 600 investors.
Last month, Innovation Village reported that Latitude59 was on the lookout for early-stage startups from across Africa to compete for a chance to pitch at the next edition of its competition. For the past two years, the prize pool for the Latitude59 pitch competition has been set at €1 million (US$1.1 million).
A total of 382 applications were received from 37 African countries, and the top 10 startups have now been selected. These finalists will pitch at an event in Kenya on November 28, where the African winner will be chosen.
Eight of the selected ventures are Kenyan, showcasing a diverse range of innovative solutions:
- Eco Nasi: Transforms pineapple pulp waste into high-quality vegan leather.
- Grekkon: Scales up moisture sensors for smallholder farmers.
- NoMa: A tech platform that digitizes school transportation.
- Paycloud: Building a neobank to help MSMEs in Africa pay, get paid, and access credit through payment aggregation.
- Roadrims: Provides reliable, efficient, and cost-effective logistics.
- Twiva: A social commerce platform.
- VunaPay: Provides instant payments to farmers.
- Zerobionic: Developing a human-like robotic arm to assist students with hearing impairments.
Additionally, two other startups from Nigeria and Tanzania have been selected:
- AcemyX (Nigeria): An LMS helping students prepare for exams with personalized learning tools and study materials.
- Afya Mama (Tanzania): Provides answers to questions about maternal care and reproductive health to women via SMS and web app.
These startups will compete in Kenya, and the winner will advance to the main Latitude59 event in Estonia, where they will have the chance to pitch for the substantial prize pool and gain international exposure.
