PwC has announced the 20 finalists for its Vision to Reality awards in Africa, with the overall winner to attend and present at the global PwC Accelerator conference.
The finalists were chosen by an independent judging panel, having been narrowed down from a list of more than 80 companies throughout Africa.
The Vision to Reality Awards programme celebrates emerging companies with tech-enabled solutions across all industries. The finalists will now pitch at the PwC Pitching Den at the SA Innovation Summit on August 28, after which the top 10 companies will be selected and recognised.
The overall winner will progress to the global PwC Accelerator conference, where PwC’s Accelerator team showcases flagship companies selected worldwide.
“These businesses’ ability to inspire others and ignite a business from the startup phase to leading the industry is a significant achievement,” said Danie Fölscher, PwC partner in charge of the Western Cape region.
“Globally, there is an increasing focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurship must be acknowledged and supported across the African continent to address the issue of poverty and joblessness on the continent. These innovative emerging companies are disruptive and are highly scalable businesses. They require professional services to add value to their goals and vision, and ensure they are sustainable.”
Fölscher said this year’s finalists were chosen from the most dynamic, enterprising and successful businesses.
“It is encouraging that entrepreneurs are taking pride in the businesses that they have helped to create and transform. It is critical for governments to acknowledge and support these as they play an important role in the economy by creating jobs and stimulating growth.”
The programme is supported by various key stakeholders in the ecosystem, including Wesgro, SmartXChange, BizFarm, Silicon Cape, the Bandwidth Barn, Startup Grind and Knife Capital.
The 20 finalists are: BabyGroup, Clear Sky Energy (Pty) Ltd, Digicash, Emerge Mobile, eMoyo, Everlytic, Info Slips, Nomanini, Open Box Software, Origin Dynamic Systems (Pty) Ltd, Overscore (Pty) Ltd, PayFast, Quicket, Sea Monster Entertainment, SNC (Stellenbosch Nanofibres Technology), SPARK Schools, Telemedicine Africa (Pty) Ltd, Traderoot Technologies, Xpitec (Pty) Ltd and 10X Investments.
