Kenyan agri-tech startup Taimba was named the winner of the inaugural Disrupt Africa Live Pitch Competition in Nairobi today, winning a number of prizes.
The Live Pitch Competition, the first of its kind to be launched by Disrupt Africa, took place at the East Africa Com event in Nairobi, with eight startups pitching to take part.
These startups pitched their products and solutions to a judging panel formed of Stephen Gugu, manager of the Viktoria Business Angels Network (VBAN); Aaron Fu, managing director of MEST; Hannah Clifford, director of Nairobi Garage; and Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.
Agri-tech startup Taimba, a business-to-business (B2B) mobile-based cashless platform that connects farmers to retailers, cutting wastage and making agricultural products affordable without undercutting the farmer, came out joint top in terms of judging scores, alongside Zambiam startup The Local Electricity Project, which sells an educational kit which gives young people everything they need to create new ways of generating electricity using local resources.
Taimba was named the overall winner after the decision was thrown open to an audience vote, securing a host of prizes, namely an expenses-paid trip to Cape Town to pitch at AfricaCom, Africa’s premier tech conference, in November 2018; a one-on-one investor meeting with Gugu; a marketing package worth US$500 from Disrupt Africa; and six months free membership of the Nairobi Garage Club Space on Ngong Road.
Kenyan dairy farm digitalisation startup LishaBora came third, while the other startups pitching were IoT-based e-health startup Beacon, bitcoin-based crowdfunding platform Drofund, insurtech startups Kakbima and WazInsure, and agri-tech startup Leo Leo.
“We were really impressed by the quality of all the participants in our first live pitching event, and congratulate all of the startups that took part,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder and judging panellist Gabriella Mulligan.
“The Local Electricity Project and LishaBora came so close to taking top spot, but Taimba carried the day. We look forward to welcoming them to Cape Town for AfricaCom in November, and will follow their progress with interest in the meantime.”
