Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars has opened applications for its first event in The Gambia, where one startup will be chosen to take part in the global final.
Seedstars, which 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, will hold its Gambian event in Banjul on November 17.
Around 10 startups will be chosen to pitch at the event, with the winner taking part in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April of next year and standing the chance of winning up to US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes.
Applications are open until November 6, with startups applying needing to be less than two years old, have raised less than US$500,000 in funding, and have built a minimum viable product. Seedstars will also look for potential regional and global scalability.
“At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. We see ourselves as a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs in places where normally people wouldn’t think startup ecosystems have such traction, growth and buzz. We are very excited to be in The Gambia, highlighting such a bustling entrepreneurship ecosystem and we are here to witness the reality,” said Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars.
“We are also experts in identifying which are the ones to pull through and how. We’re impressed by what we have seen in the region so far and cannot wait to add startups from The Gambia onto our map.”
