Transport startup Txapita Mobility has been named winner of the Mozambican leg of the global Seedstars World competition, booking a place at the global final and the chance to pitch for US$500,000 in equity investment.
Seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets Seedstars World is selecting national winners from all over the world, including around 30 African countries, and will bring them together at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland next year to compete for funding and a host of other prizes.
It has already chosen winners in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Angola, The Gambia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cape Verde, Tunisia, Malawi, Cameroon, Mauritius, Uganda, Libya, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast, and held its Mozambican event in Maputo last Friday.
Nine seed-stage startups pitched in front of a local jury panel for a place in the final, with Txapita Mobility named overall winner. The startup installs tracking devices in public transport vehicles that allow passengers to monitor location and arrival time of their buses via mobile phone.
The startup will now take part in the global final in Switzerland, where it will have the chance of winning the equity funding, but will also represent Mozambique at the Seedstars Africa regional summit in Johannesburg in December and gain access to a three-month investment readiness programme.
Output came in second place for Xiphefu, an IoT device that enables users remotely to switch electricity on and off, while delivery platform Cliko was third.
