Recruitment startup Mohiri has been named winner of the Botswanan 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, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali, and held its Gaborone event last week at Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH).
Ten startups pitched in front of a local jury panel for a place in the final, with Mohiri selected as the winner. The startup has developed an AI-driven personalised job alert service that connects subscribers with relevant vacancies through their mobile phones.
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 Mali at the Seedstars Africa regional summit in Johannesburg in December and gain access to a three-month investment readiness programme.
Ed-tech platform Classmates came second, with fintech startup Vimosure grabbing the last spot in the top three. The other startups invited to pitch were Global GamePlay, Khadi Agri, Leintel Codemasters, Rockville Solutions, SkyHub, Sturgeon Digital, and Vodcast TV.