Airbus and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) recently launched a worldwide joint call for startup applications for all the BizLab campuses.
Airbus said domains of interest are not limited to Aerospace but also include Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Urban Air Mobility among others.
Pre-selected projects will be invited to a two-day Bootcamp final selection workshop in one of the campuses with Airbus experts and Top Management. The final selection will kick off the Airbus BizLab Season 5 on October 14, 2019.
In January, Airbus selected top 10 African tech start-ups to pitch at the latest Airbus Bizlab #Africa4Future accelerator programme which is set to hold in Germany this June.
#Africa4Future is a joint business accelerator initiative of Airbus and GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa initiative together with the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), and Innocircle, the South African-based innovation consultancy.
The top 10 start-ups were selected from 314 entries representing 19 African countries that were received when the challenge was opened last October. The programme aims to encourage and support entrepreneurship in Africa. The competition identifies Africa’s own pool of talented entrepreneurs using innovative aerospace based solutions to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges such as transportation, agriculture and healthcare.
Airbus BizLab is ideally suited to help African startups transform innovative ideas into viable and valuable businesses. The programme increases the aerospace industry’s engagement with hardware and software innovators and entrepreneurs in Africa while helping to nurture the establishment of competitive entrepreneurial ecosystems on the continent.
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The Nairobi pitch event was part of an intensive 6-month business incubation and accelerator programme involving technical, commercial and mentorship activities in France, Germany and South Africa. From 19-26 June, finalists will DEMO their products, define their collaboration with Airbus and announce their investment commitments in front of representatives from across the aerospace industry.
The ten startups include:
1. Astral Aerial (Kenya) – using drones for humanitarian cargo transport, surveillance and emergency response.
2. Cote d’Ivoire drone (Ivory Coast) – locally-manufactured drones for various applications.
3. Elemental Numerics (South Africa) – applies computational fluid dynamics techniques to the design of machines and components, ranging from aircraft to heart valves.
4. Lentera Limited (Kenya) – applying remote sensors to monitor and transmit environmental data to enable more efficient and smarter farming.
5. Maisha ICT Tech PLC (Ethiopia) – deploying locally built drones for delivering medicines, blood and healthcare items to remote and rural areas.
6. MamaBird (Malawi) – provides a platform to help Governments, NGOs and other organisations deliver vital life-saving supplies to remote communities.
7. Map Action (Mali) – a solution offering real-time online urban mapping to identify problems affecting water supplies, hygiene and sanitation.
8. MobiTech Water Solutions (Kenya) – an online real-time water monitoring solution that allows businesses, homes and water-service providers to manage their available water using an app-based dashboard and instant messaging.
9. Track Your Build (Nigeria) – a novel infrastructure management tool for construction and operations.
10. WiPo Wireless Power (South Africa) – offers reliable and convenient wireless power chargers for businesses, conference centres, airports, restaurants and other venues for the charging of mobile devices, laptops and drones.
