Senegal’s MaTontine is the winner of the Seedstars World competition in the country meaning that they will represent the country at the global final in Switzerland next year where they will compete for US$1 million that is up for grabs.
The competition took place over the weekend at the Pullman Teranga Hotel and was sponsored by Groupe Confina. in the West African country. Seedstars World has been hosting such events for early startups and so far Mozambique, Tunisia, Tanzania, SouthAfrica, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
“Global competitions such as Seedstars World are key to Dakar’s emerging startup ecosystem. SSW Dakar now stands as a major event in our ecosystem’s agenda. It gives regional and global exposure to our best entrepreneurs, which is key to attracting key players like investors to our ecosystem,” said Babacar Birane from Concree, the local Seedstars ambassador.
MaTontine provides a solution that provides access to small loans and microinsurance by digitizing traditional savings circles.
The startup is now set for Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April 2018 where there will also be pitching with a possibility of winning US$1 million equity investment. The Seedstars summit is a week-long training programme entailing 75 winners, investors, and mentors from all over the world.
In second position was Bayseddo, a platform that allows farmers to finance their crop year, while PayDunya, a one-stop-shop for creating, managing and growing sales took the third position.
