The Rwandan leg of the global Seedstars World competition for early-stage startups will take place in Kigali on August 26, with applications now open for startups to earn one of the 10 slots.
Seedstars World events have already taken place in Maputo, Mozambique and the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg, with the Lagos leg to take later today.
Regional winners will progress to the global final to be held in Switzerland in February 2016, where finalists will compete to win US$1.5 million in investment; US$500,000 for the winner of each of three tracks.
Applications are now open until Sunday, August 2 for the Rwandan leg, with up to 10 startups to be selected to pitch in front of judges Sara Leedom, managing director at Inkomoko, Paul Soko, investment manager at think and Patrick Kabagema, co-founder of Axiom Networks Rwanda.
“At Seedstars World, we know incredible talent is found everywhere and we can’t wait to discover Rwanda’s finest entrepreneurs. We are very excited to meet some of the country’s pioneers, already shaping the world’s future with their great ideas,” said Gregory Pepper, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.
“We honestly think the best way to have an impact in emerging countries is by investing and promoting entrepreneurship,” said Alisée de Tonnac, Seedstars World chief executive officer (CEO). “We look forward to seeing how the different startup scenes have evolved in a year and we are eager to discover new startups.”
