Meet the 20 startups competing in Seedstar World finals

Seedstars World is an international startup competition focused on giving small businesses from fast-growing markets the opportunity to present and ultimately compete in Geneva, Switzerland 7 February. An equity investment of up to US$500,000 and the title of “Best Startup In The World” are up for grabs.

From Moscow to Dubai and Seoul to Rio de Janeiro, nearly a thousand startups applied from 20 different markets last year of which five came out of Africa. Regional events were organised by Seedstars World and supported by partners around the world. These regional partners include Co-Creation Hub in Nigeria, Startup Chile in Chile, Microsoft Venture in India and PIPA in Brazil.

Startups who had less than half a million dollars in capital, were less than two years old and has an existing product on the market were eligible for the selection process. It being an international competition, the company should also have a product that’s potentially scalable to other markets.

From 1 to 7 February, the selected startups will work on their pitches and finally present their concepts to a renowned international jury.

Seedstars World believes that there’s a massive amount of untapped opportunities to be discovered in these emerging markets. “Silicon Valley is not the only place in the world where talented entrepreneurs hide,” says Seedstars World cofounder Alisee de Tonnac.

He further notes, “Many of the projects we’ve seen are fantastic, they have a viable business model that not only works in their local market but also may serve as a global product. Those, we believe, are the leading companies of tomorrow.”

The 20 regional winners include the following:

• WayRay is the newest multifunctional navigation system projecting Augmented Reality content right in front of the driver. (Moscow)
• TourBud is a web service for travelers, which allows you to find a person who can answer your questions and even become your personal tour guide. (Dubai)
• NeWo users will be able to discover their surroundings by simply scanning items, buildings, words, locations and whatever they want with the camera and sensors of their smartphones. (Baku)
• RetailTower, specializes in creating e-commerce marketing software that helps small and medium size online merchants promote their products and drive traffic through online shopping destination sites. (Accra)
• Foyo is an application that sends daily SMS to subscribers of the composition of a balanced diet. (Kigali)
• SimplePay is Nigeria’s answer to secure online payment services. (Lagos)
• Jooist is a social gaming network for mobile phones that enables users to discover games, play with friends, compare scores and share achievements. (Nairobi)
• Gust Pay is a quick and easy mobile payment experience that work in shops and at music events using smartphones and NFC wristbands. (Cape Town)
• HackerEarth provides a recruiting solution that combines an applicant tracking system with a skill assessment engine to help companies prevent wrong hires and reduce time wasted in interviews. (Bangalore)
• Chilindo Online auction platform for the South East Asian market. (Bangkok)
• NovaTap (dockphp) is a browser based tool to code websites visually. (Singapore)
• Vimantra is a cloud video platform that brings interactive, connected and real time experiences for video broadcasting on all internet connected devices. (Hong Kong)
• JXJ Technologies provides health service through sensor network and back stage platform. Its terminal is a watch-like mobile phone with sensor embedded to monitor health condition based on China’s traditional pulse theory. (Beijing)
• Flitto is an innovative crowdsourcing translation platform that gives you access to all kinds of contents in your native language. (Seoul)
• Locarise is an analytics service for bricks and mortar shops that collects anonymous Wi-Fi signals emitted by smart phones and aggregate them to deliver foot traffic metrics. (Tokyo)
• Jayride is the online marketplace for land passenger transport that aggregates and books transport with private suppliers. The only bookable transport data set available. (Sydney)
• PingStamp provides a complete loyalty platform that helps small & medium merchants to understand and reward customers who love their business. (Mexico City)
• Totus Power provides, to schools lacking power in emerging markets, a battery power pack that is 10X cheaper & 6X more powerful. Totus Power is making this a reality by reusing Lithium Ion technology from electric cars. (Santiago)
• Wideo is a “Do It Yourself” online tool to create animated videos and share feelings, ideas, products or knowledge with the world. (Buenos Aires)
• Kudo Learning is a mobile language-learning application for children. (Rio de Janeiro)