The organising committee of the 2016 DEMO Africa have announced the names of the 30 final entries. The finalists were picked from a record 723 technology startups from 27 African countries that applied to launch at the event.
Out of the 30, South Africa is represented by 11 startups, Nigeria 6, Kenya 5 and Ghana 3. For the first time Morocco will have a representative in the continental fair. Other countries include Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda.
(TOP: Members of a startup make their pitch at 2015 DEMO Africa in Lagos, Nigeria).
“The entries this year certainly kept up with the DEMO Africa spirit to produce innovative and creative ideas that are bound to transform the technology landscape and we are excited by the growth of innovation and technological advancement in Africa as portrayed by our finalists,” said Harry Hare, DEMO Africa executive producer while congratulating the finalists.
The 30 finalist startups have products in 11 verticals including logistics, retail, ecommerce, education, banking and finance, media, renewable energy, health and agriculture. Banking and financial technologies had the highest number of entries followed by media, e-commerce and education.
The adjudication process which began mid-June 2016, involved a series of activities with a continental jury. “The adjudication process involves a review of the documentation submitted by the startups, a review of their online properties, and testing some of the applications that are online, but the judges also look at the innovation, viability and the product – market fit,” said Mbugua Njihia, the event director.
“It was difficult to come up with this list,” said Harry Hare, adding: “Any of the short-listed companies could make an impression on the DEMO Africa stage due to the quality and their potential. But we can only have 30 companies. I would like to congratulate all the companies that participated and encourage them to continue building their business.”
Below is the DEMO Africa 2016 list of finalist startups:
Grid Supply Chain
Loystar
Iyris KO Ltd
Cocktail Insights
Boresha Limited
Ujuzi Software Solutions
MumsVillage Ltd
Strauss Energy
IT Brothers
Nextwi
Solstice HES
WESABI
ArtNigeria
Shuttlers
Rubiqube Limited
SharpHire Global Limited
Vuga Ltd
ConnectMed
Reel Gardening
SolarCap Pty Ltd
RadioVybe
Sortd
ION Comsys
Ekasi Energy
4th Element
K Measure Pty Ltd
Zivo Learning
flexyPAYIntenational
Telescrypts
Lipa Mobile
The DEMO Africa 2016 conference will take place on August 25 – 26. It is expected to attract venture capitalists, angel Investors, investment fund managers tech buyers, entrepreneurs, innovation supporters & media from various parts of the world.
This year’s event is supported by the LIONS@frica Partners, City of Johannesburg, the South African Department of Science and Technology. Other partners include Google, The World Bank, and African Technology Foundation.
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