Applications for startup launchpad are now open

folarin okunola

February 1, 2017 5:57 PM

30 startups will be selected to launch and pitch their products at the main event in September.

DEMO Africa has dates of its key activities leading up to its annual technology startups launch event which will hold on September 6 and 7, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Organizers said, at a press conference in Nairobi, that the portal for the 2017 edition of the startup launch event is now open. Interested startups have until April 30th to apply.

The 2017 edition will be the 6th edition of DEMO Africa, which debuted at the World Economic Forum for Africa in 2012. Since then, it has been held in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

Some of the activities leading up to the the Johannesburg event include mini-DEMO Africa events, also known as the innovation tour, in 14 African countries from February to May. These mini events will be held in partnerships with partner hubs and accelerators across the continent.

“We will be covering all the four corners of the continent and we have increased the number of countries that we will visit this year,” said Eng. Martin Obuya, projects director at DEMO Africa.

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“There has been a lot of innovation and entrepreneurship activities in these new countries and we hope to catalyze the ecosystems there in line with our mission."

During the tour, the DEMO Africa team and its partners will engage with tech startups to share the DEMO Africa vision, coach and mentor interested startups and share tools to help them grow their businesses.

“We want to engage with startups in all the countries we visit,” said Mbugua Njihia, event director, at DEMO Africa. “This is a very good opportunity for startups to take advantage of the partner network created by DEMO Africa and its partners through the LIONS@FRICA partnership to create linkages and networks that can help grow their businesses."

Categories for which entries are being taken include Health, Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Entertainment, Energy and Logistics.

30 startups will be selected to launch and pitch their products at the main event in September. They will also receive mentorship, attend a 2-day bootcamp and receive software and services worth more than $150,000 for the next three years.

folarin okunola