AfricaIgnite has emerged as the chosen host for the African leg of the prestigious Start-Up World Cup 2023.
What makes this exciting is that ten exceptional African start-ups will go head-to-head, all vying for a shot at the Grand Finale. They will have a chance to secure a life-changing cool $1 million investment (approximately R20 million)
The Grand Finale is set to take place in San Francisco on December 1.
The AfricaIgnite Start-up Pitch showcase will be the highlight of the Africa Tech Festival taking place in captivating Cape Town, this November.
To seize this opportunity, early-stage African start-ups and scale-ups with seed funding of up to $15 million must submit their applications by October 15. The chosen finalists will then be revealed on October 30.
On November 16, they will go head to head in a thrilling showdown before a panel of investors and tech luminaries on November 16.
The victor of the Africa Tech Festival’s pitch competition will be invited to compete in the ultimate showdown at the Grand Finale.
This event will be graced by the industry’s titans, including the likes of Barbara Corcoran from ABC’s Shark Tank, Sundeep Jain (Chief Product Officer at Uber), Daniel Sturman (CTO at Roblox), and many more.
Africa Tech Festival's start-up platform has been committed to nurturing Africa's budding entrepreneurs and innovators since its inception in 2016. This commitment has ignited the meteoric rise of AfricaIgnite.
James Williams, Director of Events at Connecting Africa Informa Tech, said Africa’s greatest minds deserve a platform like this: "As Africa Tech Festival, we are elated to partner with the Startup World Cup, offering African entrepreneurs the global stage they deserve. This partnership is just the beginning, and we anticipate many more to follow as Africa's innovation sector continues to flourish."
In the year 2022, Africa stood tall as the sole continent where start-up investment recorded remarkable growth, surging to approximately $4.8 billion across approximately 1,000 ventures.
While this number is staggering, this figure represents only a fraction, a mere 1.2%, of global start-up funding.
As Africa continues to put itself on the map for start-ups, we are improving in the Fintech sector too.
In the period spanning 2021-2022, the FinTech sector commanded 37% of the investment. However, its dominance is now being challenged by a wave of fresh ideas aimed at addressing Africa's energy and waste challenges.
Additional sectors, including telecoms, media, entertainment, logistics, transport, retail, agriculture, food, and deep tech, have also started attracting significant interest.
Anis Uzzaman, Founder and CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures and the visionary behind the Startup World Cup competition since 2016, said they are thrilled to partner with Africa Tech Festival for the Startup World Cup South Africa Regional: “Each year, we connect with more entrepreneurs across more cities worldwide, linking diverse innovation ecosystems to Silicon Valley and beyond."
In addition to the eagerly anticipated early-stage start-up Pitch Showcase, AfricaIgnite 2023 promises a whirlwind of engaging content and networking opportunities. The AfricaIgnite space within the AfricaTech Hall will be the epicenter of action, offering unparalleled networking and matchmaking sessions, a bustling start-up marketplace, a demo area (where no pitching is required), as well as an array of expert-led workshops and masterclasses.
Delegates, budding start-ups, and aspiring business leaders will have the chance to explore a wide spectrum of topics, including the crucial first year as a founder, the transformative power of collaboration in building global enterprises, the evolution of cutting-edge "X"-tech for future generations, navigating start-ups through challenging economic climates, and unraveling the intricacies of the entrepreneurial journey – from concept to funding and exit planning.
Visit the Africa Tech Festival 2023 website if you are a start-up that want to shoot their shot.
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