Applications have opened for Ivory Coast leg of the Seedstars World competition, which will see the winning startup book their place in the global final for the chance of securing up to US$1 million in equity investment.
Seedstars has already picked African winners in Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Libya, Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau,and will hold its Ivory Coast event at Seedspace Abidjan on October 26.
The winning startup will be offered the chance to take part in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April next year, where it will pitch for up to US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes.
Applications are open until October 15, with startups required to be less than two years old, have raised less than US$500,000 in funding, and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction. The Seedstars team is searching for one additional criterion: the startup’s regional and global scalability.
“Seedstars World is a platform that connects investors and stakeholders with the next generation of entrepreneurs. Since this will be our fourth time organising the event at Abidjan, the stakes are high and we are very excited,” said Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars.
“We’ve been in this ecosystem for more than four years now and know there are companies in Ivory Coast developing high-quality products. We are looking for the best and will take it with us to Switzerland in 2019.”
