Five African tech SMEs are among the 19 startups that will head off to Milan next week to compete for the title of World’s Best Startup, reports Biz Tech Africa. U-Start, an annual international startup event, will fly the top 19 start-ups from Africa, Europe, South America and Russia to Milan for the final to be held 13 to 14 May.
The conference also serves as a leading knowledge-sharing event, encouraging entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels and global thought-leaders in the technology and business sector to exchange insights, contacts and expertise.
Regional finalists were unveiled at the U-Start’s conferences in Brazil, South Africa, Russia and Switzerland. Each entrepreneur will be allowed to live-pitch head-to-head against 18 of the world’s top early-stage ventures.
Finalists will be vying for the title of the top start-up of the world the prize of final stage funding and the exclusive opportunity to participate in U-Start’s International Investment road show.
According to Biz Tech Africa, each enterprise presented in three-minute slots to a body of active international VC firms, accelerators, high net-worth individuals, family offices and policymakers. The event culminated in the selection of the six finalists, chosen by a panel of esteemed judges. The winning selection was chosen based on four key principles: feasibility, sustainability, scalability and entrepreneurship.
The overall winner of the live-pitch event will be given the chance to take part in the U-Start international investment road show where they will have access to U-Start’s established network of international investors specifically developed to foster the growth of the individual winner.
This will help the startup gain international prominence and enable them to enhance their business on an international scale. Furthermore, an individual regional winner will be chosen from each region’s finalists and awarded complete business support from U-Start’s regional headquarters.
The start-ups competing in Milan are:
· Western Europe: Chicplace, Italist, Panna Cotta, CharityStars, Love the Sign and SwissLeg
· South America: Love Mondays, ZeroPaper, Intoo and NearBytes
· Russia: Linguademia, Hell’o Baby, Piiine and myWishBoard
· South Africa: MellowsCabs, WiGroup, SteadiDrone, CapeRay and Over
5 African tech SMEs to compete for title of ‘World’s Best Start-Up’ [Biz Tech Africa]
