Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, is returning to Uganda on September 10th. In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging countries, Seedstars World has expanded its competition to include more than 50 countries for 2015 (up from the 36 countries of the 2014 edition.) Its previous participants have raised over USD 20M collectively, providing employment to +360 employees all around the world.
This year’s Seedstars Kampala is supported by Google For entrepreneurs and Stanbic Bank
A new addition to the competition this year are the Investments Tracks. Seedstars World has partnered up with the iconic brand lastminute.com Group to source the best travel startups, and with a top financial insitution(to be announced soon) to find the most innovative fintech company. Each of these Investment Tracks will have a USD 500K equity prize for its winner, with the association of one of the biggest players in the industries as an added bonus. Various other prizes can be won outside the tracks such as the Space Prize, a USD 50k grant awarded by Inmarsat and AP-Swiss. All regional winners of the local events will be invited back to Switzerland to pitch at the final event in February 2016 in Switzerland.
Other than the basic criteria for a seed-stage company that is less than 2 years since the founding date, that has less than USD 500’000 in funding and that has an available MVP, Seedstars World is also looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and/or develop profitable products for the global market. With partners such as MEST, Google for Entrepreneurs, and Microsoft, Seedstars World identifies fast-growing and pioneering startup scenes and is on a mission to support regional businesses and their growth. “Seedstars World is a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs, pulling the spotlight from Silicon Valley and Western Europe. “We honestly think the best way to have an impact in emerging countries is by investing and promoting entrepreneurship ” explains Alisée de Tonnac, Seedstars World CEO. “We look forward to seeing how the different startup scenes have evolved in a year and we are eager to discover new startups.”
Up to 10 of the best startups in Uganda will be invited to pitch for the opportunity to compete at the final event. The event in Kampala will be hosted at Outbox Hub and will take place on September 11th from 4PM-9PM. Applications are open until August 22nd and interested startups can apply here.
This year, Seedstars World has a local Ambassador representing the initiative throughout the year, Solomon Opio and Richard Zulu from Outbox Hub who chose to support Seedstars World in order to give local startups the opportunity to compete on a global stage. They have partnered with a number of local incubators and accelerators to ensure a broad base of companies and show the best of Uganda’s Startup space.
“We are looking forward to seeing how the ecosystem has developed since last year. After meeting exciting companies like remit.ug we can’t wait to see what’s new in Uganda’s thriving startup space.” said Marcello Schermer, Regional Manager for Africa at Seedstars World.
Image: Remit.ug’s Stone Atwine Pitching at last year’s Seedstars Kampala
