We told you about it in a previous edition, the AfricArena Tour 2018 will take place in the Indian Ocean. On Wednesday, May 2, the organizers of the event set up shop at La Turbine, the time for them to designate the best start-up on the island. Result: among the many impressive pitches, the one from the start-up Travelbudds stood out…
Searching for the golden nugget of Mauritius, that was the objective of the AfricArena Tour 2018, which made a stopover on our island yesterday, for an afternoon.
“Mauritius is full of people who want to innovate. We all know the “tras trase” of Mauritians, which is commendable in itself. It is this dynamism that makes Mauricie an ideal platform for growing a start-up,” said Fabrice Boullé, Director of Compass Venture Capital, the first venture capital fund in the Indian Ocean.
If one believes these words, it is only natural that the entrepreneurial spirit of Mauritians should be highlighted. But why AfricArena? For the record, this is a conference designed to showcase Africa’s best start-ups and innovators to an audience of local and international investors looking for opportunities. For this upcoming edition, which will take place in November, the conference organizers have embarked on a tour of the Indian Ocean and Africa to find the best start-up in each city. Each winner gets a spot to ‘pitch’ at AfricArena 2018, which will take place in Cape Town.
A lot of people met in the afternoon of Wednesday, May 2 at the Turbine incubator for the Mauritian pre-selection. On the program, 7 impressive pitches and a winner. Out of all the applications received for this pre-selection, 7 Mauritian start-ups were selected to pitch in front of Christophe Viarnaud, French Tech Cape Town ambassador and important protagonist of the jury panel for the occasion.
Fundkiss, Travelbudds, Ticati, Rezobooking, Storageplus.io and Expat.com: these 7 start-ups were presented to the jury in turn. Candidates had 3 minutes to pitch and another 2 minutes to answer the various questions asked. In total, five minutes to convince a jury of the competence of their start-up and their legitimacy as a potential shortlisted candidate!
The business model, the marketing aspect, the target audience, the financial resources and the revenues: all these criteria were examined by the jury to decide between the competitors and, above all, to select the best one. An impressive challenge that was met with flying colours, as any entrepreneur should know how to do!
Travelbudds takes a direct flight to Cape Town!
This Mauritian pre-selection remains above all a competition! The prize is a place to pitch at the AfricArena, which will take place on 15 and 16 November in Cape Town.
Of the 7 startups that deserved a spot at AfricArena 2018, only one stood out! The start-up, Travelbudds, has secured its place at the second edition of the event.
Travelbudds, founded by Linley Tanner and Arielle Meyer, is a travel app that helps in the preparation and organization of trips. Find the most beautiful destinations to discover thanks to the recommendations of other travellers, follow your friends during their stay abroad and share your experiences of a place or country you have visited! Travelbudds is a real call to discovery, which is probably why the jury loved it.
Like Travelbudds, other startups have great potential, but lack that little push to move forward. A platform like AfricArena, others are needed to give more visibility to these companies that just want to be seen!
