SA startup Giraffe bags US$500k Seedstars World grand prize

South African-based mobile recruitment platform Giraffe took home the US$500 000 investment grand prize at the Seedstars World Summit in Switzerland.

“We’re really grateful for this award. But we still have a long way to go and a lot of hard work to do before we achieve our mission of helping reducing unemployment in the emerging world and lifting people out of poverty,” says founder & head of product at Giraffe, Shafin Anwarsha.

Finalists participated in a two-day boot camp where the final 11 contestants were selected. The startups then pitched for the final prize of US$500 000 among other prizes on offer.

Giraffe represented South Africa in the event with 12 other startups from around Africa. The company was part of 3000 applicants who applied for the Seedstars World programme in 2015.

Read more: Job seeker app Giraffe to represent SA in Seedstars World finale

“We’d like to dedicate this award to South Africa. South Africa has so much talent, resources and the resolve to succeed. Despite the current issues at home, investors should take a long view that South Africa will once again emerge victorious,” adds Anwarsha.

The startup connects medium-skilled job seekers with opportunities through its automated mobile recruitment app for free. Since launching in February 2015, the startup has attracted over 75 000 job seekers.

Seedstars recently announced their plans to launch a digital academy in Lagos, Nigeria.