Rental startup GetHosted, rewards app Loyal1 win Jozi leg of DEMO Africa tour

Space rental startup GetHosted and end-to-end rewards application Loyal1 have been selected as the winners of the Johannesburg leg of the DEMO Africa tour.

The Johannesburg-leg of the DEMO Africa tour, which was held last week on 28 June, saw five startups pitch before a panel of judges that included South African Dragon’s Den investor Lebo Gunguluza, Barclays Rise Incubator co-founder Kenneth Kayser, and Legazy founder Zuko Tisani.

Applications for the 2018 DEMO Africa cohort will close next week on 15 July

GetHosted and Loyal1 were selected as winners after getting shortlisted into the second round of the pitch event. The other startups to pitch at the event were fintechs CommuScore, Afripay and parenting blog You, Baby and I.

In a statement yesterday, DEMO Africa executive director Harry Hare commented: “Having two teams tie after the second round is a clear indication that innovation in Africa is stepping up and we at DEMO Africa are more than pleased at the progress Africa is marking”.

The DEMO Africa tour moves to Cape Town tomorrow (5 July). The pitch takes place at the Rise Accelerator in Woodstock.

The successful startups in each region will automatically qualify to be part of the pool of 30 startups set to pitch at the DEMO Africa launchpad. Selected companies will be provided with resources worth over $150 000, including tools from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to assist the founders in building their businesses.

Other startups that have qualified for the regional finals so far include Advanced IT Solutions from Kenya and Ugandan agritech TIFAT.

Startups looking to apply for the 2018 DEMO Africa cohort can do so here before 15 July.