Facebook is bringing Startup Battlefield to Africa!

folarin okunola

May 19, 2017 7:01 PM

The African version of the competition will be called Techrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2017 and it will go down in Nairobi, Kenya on October 11, 2017.

Techcrunch Startup Battlefield Africa, sponsored by Facebook.

Techcrunch, one of the biggest online tech publications in the world, is bringing its Startup Battlefield competition to Africa for the first time ever, thanks to Facebook.

The African version of the competition will be called Techrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2017 and it will go down in Nairobi, Kenya on October 11, 2017.

Interested startups will be able to apply under the following categories: social good, productivity and utility, and gaming and entertainment. The event is sponsored by Facebook.

“TechCrunch is eager to take part in covering Africa’s burgeoning tech sector more fully. We love to see startup ecosystems develop, and Battlefield is one of the best platforms in the world to spotlight the most promising ventures for investors, partners and even future employees,” says Techcrunch, according to an Innovation Village report.

“Our editors carefully pick the best startups to compete from hundreds of applications, and recruits world class judges to ask tough questions and pick the winners. And the Battlefield staff coaches the founders to make brilliant pitches on stage at the Battlefield event.”

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The event will take place in front of a live audience and top judges. It will also be livestreamed on the Techcrunch website and Facebook as well.

Judges will pick winners in each category as well as an overall winner, which will win $25, 000 in no-equity cash plus an all-expense paid trip for two to San Francisco to compete at the next edition of Techcrunch’s flagship event, Disrupt SF 2018. To date, 648 companies have participated in Battlefield, raised $6.9 billion and produced 95 exits.

To participate startups must fall in the required categories (mentioned above), be early-stage ventures in “launch” stage, founders must be resident in one of the eligible countries, have a fully working product/beta already in production or reasonably close to being in production, have received limited press or publicity and have no known intellectual property conflicts.

Applications close on July 14, 2017 and finalists (five in each category) will be notified by August 21, 2017. If you’re interested and want to apply, you should visit the Techcrunch website ASAP.

folarin okunola