Seedstars to reward most outstanding startup with $1mn equity investment

The discovery of new talents through contests has over the years seen the emergence of many innovative technology start-ups that otherwise, may have gone unnoticed. For Nigerian start-ups, Seedstars has been playing a pivotal role in this aspect, and is set to host this year’s grand finale of Seedstars World in Switzerland, described as the largest emerging markets startup competition.

For its fifth anniversary, Seedstars noted in a statement that this year’s event will be its best summit to date, gathering over 65 handpicked startups from Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Spanning a wide variety of verticals, from Fin-tech to Ed-tech, Med/Bio-tech, Agri-tech, Insure-tech, Clean-tech and High/Nano-tech, they will reunite in the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland to compete for different prizes and the title of Seedstars Global Winner, qualifying to win up to $1M in equity investment.

The 2018 edition will also attract start-ups enthusiasts, investors, business angels, government officials, incubators, NGOs and journalists from all over the world for an international and unique hands-on networking experience.

Winners from Africa, expectedly participating at the summit include MedSaf, the trusted medication platform for Africa and Solar Freeze, from Kenya, finalist of the Africa Energy Prize awarded by Enel. This start-up is pioneering mobile cold-storage units powered by renewable energy, to help rural smallholder African farmers face the huge challenge of post-harvest loss.

These African start-ups demonstrate how new trends will impact business in Africa through; agri-tech solutions for post-harvest loss, tech-based advances in energy supply, how technology is improving and enlarging people’s and enterprises’ access to financial products and services.

These innovations will also cover technologic advances applied to education, african solutions using technology to make buying and selling medication easy and efficient for hospitals and pharmacies worldwide, new trends for urban mobility and insurance coverage made accessible by young entrepreneurs.

Speakers expected at the summit include Rebecca Enonchong, founder and CEO of AppsTech, representing Africa; Gwendolyn Regina, who most recently spearheaded Mashable’s global expansion into Asia; Tallis Gomes, one of the most outstanding references for entrepreneurship in Latam and Gibran Huzaifah, the Seedstars World Alumni superstar, founder of eFishery.

This edition of the Seedstars Summit will be celebrated with the purpose to address crucial questions: where do we want to be five years from now regarding technology and innovation? And; how will the entrepreneurship from fast-growing markets impact the world economy?

Seedstars has been one of those platforms making the discovery of tech talents possible in Nigeria, and the long list includes SimplePay and Kangpe.

In 2013, Simeon Ononobi, founder, SimplePay won the global contest of SeedStars, cashing in on $330,000 by Seedstars, and an additional $1 million from the Bank of Industry to give life to his tech start-up which is today an industry leader in payment solutions. SimplePay was awarded “Best Nigerian Startup” in the 2013 edition of Seedstars World Lagos.

On what differentiates SimplePay, Ononobi said “I know there are so many people trying to do the same thing we are doing but makes us stand out is that we try to innovate, every time. We try to change what people are doing and how they’re doing it.”

SimplePay allows any business or consumer with an e-mail address and a bank account to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online or through their mobile phone.

In 2016, Kangpe Healthcare Services emerged as one of the biggest tech revelations of that year, having won the pitching session by SeedStars for a chance to secure $500,000 in funding from the global contest in Switzerland.

The innovation is driven by a first of its kind service in Nigeria which is lending a helping hand with the Kangpe App in the quest to help people make better healthcare-related decisions.

A key objective behind this innovation is to “put a medical doctor in the pocket of every Nigerian”, said Femi Kuti, one of Kangpe’s founders.

This year, talents from different parts of the world will also get the opportunity to show their innovations on the world stage and if successful, secure funding to scale up on their visions.

CALEB OJEWALE