Applications have opened for this year’s edition of Sparkup! in Cape Town, which will see up to 15 startups go through a three-day training programme before having the chance to pitch for on-the-spot investment.
Sparkup! has run alongside the annual Net Prophet conference in Cape Town since 2011, with Net Prophet returning this year on April 7 after a one-year hiatus.
The fully-funded three-day programme allows up to 15 startups to boost their business thinking and groom their business models, working with a range of seasoned experts, coaches and mentors.
At the end of the programme, they have the opportunity pitch their idea and secure on the spot investment from angel investors. Applications are open to all tech-based or tech-enabled startups until March 18.
At last year’s event, startups Intelworld and Vula Mobile were offered a total of US$150,000 in funding from investors. Five startups pitched in total, with the list completed by Tyrenet, Erato and Gummie. In 2014, Ekaya, 8Bit and Shopstar earned funding last year.
