Three startups emerged as winners of the Soweto leg of the Seedstars World South African competition last night, booking their place in the national final in Johannesburg on June 30 where they will pitch for a chance to compete for up to US$1 million in investment at the global final in Switzerland.
Seedstars World, which is visiting a host of African countries for this year’s competition, is this year holding a number of pre-selection events in South Africa ahead of a national final to be held in Johannesburg, at which the top three startups from each local event will go head-to-head to win the place in the global final.
The Soweto leg of the competition took place last night, with free calls service UmoyAir Communications, crowdfunded insurance startup Riovic and communication-centric organiser Sortd selected by the judges to advance to the South Africa final.
The Cape Town event took place last week, with e-logistics solutions Pargo and WumDrop, as well as online crew booking and diary service Crew Pencil, named winners.Online parenting platform You, Baby and I, wearable medical device producer Vitls and GPS personal tracking product Guardian Angel Safety Solution were the winners of the Durban event.
Soweto’s three winning startups beat off competition from on-demand drone platform DroneSnap, alcohol delivery app BOTTLES, public transport service Zula Afrika, B2B marketplace Masokko, agri-tech startup Black Industrialists, foldaway helicopter developer Pinard Aéronautique, fintech startup GEM Payment Services and savings platform GoldPay.
