Mbora, GreenFingers Mobile and EMG Technologies have been declared winners of the pre-selection round of Seedstars World held in Western Cape on Thursday, June 8th at Workshop 17.
The three were among the 11 selected startups invited to present their ideas in front of a jury panel. EMG Technologies solves a critical problem for medical professionals by aggregating medical content from regional experts in one app while GreenFingers Mobile, is a mobile first Software-as-a-Service technology platform to finance and manage large groups of smallholder farmers and last but not least mbora, a solar-powered IoT-enabled sensing suite that delivers real-time visibility to a service provider across its entire network.
The other startups invited to pitch were Arts Alternative, Dietnostix, Hi5, Jumpin Rides (Pty) Ltd , MCX Technologies, Regenize, Timu Trust, Yoummday (Pty) Ltd .
The top three startups will be invited to the Johannesburg final where they will compete with the best startups from all parts of the country, of which one will be crowned the most promising seed-stage startup of Seedstars World South Africa 2017.
“Last year, we kicked off our entire tour in Cape Town. It was great to see so many new faces, from the startups that pitched to the audience and ecosystem players. We are curious to see which entrepreneur from what ecosystem will represent South Africa this year.” says Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager of Africa.
The 11 startups pitched in front of a jury that consisted of Johan Bosini, Venture Partner at Quona Capital, Mvikeli Hlophe, Managing Executive at Brimstone , Chris Louw, Regional Manager at National Empowerment Fund, Linda Swart, Incubation Manager at Standard Bank and Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager at Seedstars World.
Moreover, Seedstars World has partnered with the Merck Accelerator on a regional level, in order to support seed-stage companies with a focus on the fields of healthcare, life science and performance materials. The most promising HealthTech startups will receive office space in the Merck Innovation Center in Kenya or Germany, mentoring and coaching on a regular basis and financial support of up to €50,000. In total, each prize package is worth around €200,000.
In addition, Seedspace Cape Town is awarding a free membership package tailored to the startup team who wins the public choice prize. Seedspace Cape Town is now based at Spin Street House, a coworking space for individuals and teams doing interesting, innovative and impactful work. This popular workspace founded in 2013 in the heart of the city, connects and supports an inspiring community and network of startups, entrepreneurs, and talents across multiple industries.
