TechCrunch is holding its first startup competition in Africa. The desire to launch TechCrunch in Africa is a long-standing project and it is thanks to Facebook, the sponsor of this event, that it became possible. The Startup Battlefield competition will be held on October 11, 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Finding talent in Sub-Saharan Africa
TechCrunch’s intention with this competition is to find the best innovators and entrepreneurs in the Sub-Saharan African region. Startups must fall into one of three categories: social good, productivity and utility, games and entertainment.
The Startup Battlefield will take place in Nairobi, under the watchful eye of a jury of excellence and an audience of connoisseurs. In addition, thanks to Facebook, the event will be live streamed to allow the whole world to be informed. The judges will select a winner in each category and will then select a winner in all categories for the “Sub-Saharan Africa’s Most Promising Startup” award. The winner will receive $25,000 and a trip to San Francisco to participate in the Battlefield, which will take place at TechCrunch’s flagship event, Disrupt SF 2018.
The TechCrunch initiative
Every year since 2011, TechCrunch has organized the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences held in San Francisco, New York, London and Berlin. During these events, startups present their products and services on stage in front of potential investors, the media and others. Afterwards, a winner is chosen, winning prizes and publicity. Among the former participants, we find the famous: Dropbox, Beam, Vurb, Trello, Mint, Yammer, Agrilyst, Crate.io, among others.
Startups from this region are helping to develop the potential of Sub-Saharan Africa, from technologies that bring edtech, agritech and medtech to remote areas, to mobile fintech innovations that facilitate financial transactions and lending in cities. This region of Africa has a strong linguistic, cultural, political and technological diversity and all this contributes to the strong creativity of the entrepreneurs.
For example, startups in Sub-Saharan Africa have demonstrated their quality in innovation by focusing more on low-cost mobile applications. This makes sense in a region where access to mobile phones is often easier than access to clean water or electricity. The various innovations taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa are encouraging expansion into international markets.
TechCrunch is keen to participate in the burgeoning technology activities on the African continent, and enjoys seeing the development of the startup ecosystem. Battlefield is one of the best platforms in the world to showcase startups and allow them to connect with investors, partners or future employees. A world-class jury capable of picking the grand winner from among the best startups, selected from hundreds of competing applications.
How to take part in the Startup Battlefield competition?
Startups must meet the required criteria to have the opportunity to compete in one of the three categories (social good, productivity and utility, games and entertainment). Five startups from each category will be selected to take the stage for Battlefield Africa in Nairobi.
You have until July 1st to register your company, for registration, go here. The conditions of eligibility are as follows:
- Being a start-up company,
- Be a resident of an eligible country,
- Have a fully functioning product/beta,
- Have limited advertising coverage,
- Not to have experienced any intellectual property disputes.
