Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars World has announced the 11 startups that will pitch at its event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast next week, with the winner destined to represent the country at the global final in Switzerland and pitch for up to US$1 million in investment.
Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, has already picked winning startups in Egypt, Tunisia, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and Ghana, and holds its Abidjan event on August 29.
The 11 startups that will take part in the pitching event are find-a-craftsman platform Mon Artisan, solar company Aphelion Energy, online courses solution FORTITUDE, jobs app Kalejob, domestic services startup DJAZI, waste management application COLIBA, e-learning platform Etudesk, tracking tool Traffety, mobile credit company SimPay, digital payments startup Syca SAS, and learning solution ZoomVocal SARL.
“We honestly think the best way to have an impact in emerging countries is by investing and promoting entrepreneurship in emerging markets,” said Claudia Makadristo, associate for Africa at Seedstars World. “We look forward to seeing how the Ivorian startup scene has evolved in a year and we are excited to discover the new startups in Ivory Coast.”
Seedstars World is partnering with TRECC – “Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities” – an Abidjan-based coalition of public and private stakeholders focused on improving the quality of education in Ivory Coast, for the event. TRECC is also the initiator and sponsor of the Transforming Education Prize, which is a US$50,000 prize to be awarded through Seedstars World’s global competitions to the best startup in the education space.
“We are sponsoring Seedstars Abidjan and the Transforming Education Prize to support Cote d’Ivoire in becoming a hub for education enterprises providing affordable market-based solutions that achieve quality education in rural areas throughout West Africa. We are excited to see what the vibrant startup scene in Abidjan has to offer and are looking forward to building relationships with the local social entrepreneur community,” said TRECC country director Sabina Vigani.
