South Africa’s public transport information mobile startup GoMetro, has been selected as a Global Finalist in the VentureOut Challenge, an initiative of infoDev, a World Bank agency.
The transit app tech startup will compete with 12 other mobile apps from around the globe before a live audience and a panel of mobile experts in Chisinau, Moldova on November 1, 2013. The VentureOut initiative was launched to help mobile app entrepreneurs to expand internationally and received 113 entries from around the world. GoMetro is the only South African finalist, going up against ventures from the rest of Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia.
Over the next few weeks, GoMetro will receive ongoing mentoring from entrepreneurs and investors from around the globe who have experience building companies and taking them global. Beyond mentorship, infoDev, through its considerable network and influence with emerging regions, will assist GoMetro to make connections for globalization. The conference in Moldova will also include hands-on training sessions to help GoMetro identify and develop their customer base and learn other critical aspects of business modeling.
GoMetro will be coached and mentored for the next 3 months by a panel of mobile app internationalization experts – including Mark Thirman, Director of Partnerships and Ventures at Vodafone; Georgiana Mirea, Senior Manager, Mobile and Digital at American Express; Scott Hartley, Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures and White House Innovation Advisor; and Alex Bashian, Investment Manager, Invested Development.