Stellenbosch startup accelerator LaunchLab is offering startups a chance of winning their share of R100 000 in seed funding through its biannual Ideas Programme Pitching Platform.
The Nedbank Stellenbosch University LaunchLab was opened in March this year and is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, Stellenbosch University (SU), Nedbank and Innovus — the industry interaction and innovation company of SU.
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The programme encourages both students and non-students from all over the Western Cape to pitch their innovative business ideas.
As noted in a recent press release sent to Ventureburn, the competition is specifically looking for those involved in payments, big data, paid media, cleantech, agritech, edutech and anything else exceptional.
“The ideas pitched here are the businesses of tomorrow. They need our support to start, grow and gain access to markets,” Anita Nel CEO of Innovus tells Ventureburn.
Read more: From lab to launch: the quest to build startup success in SA’s innovation capital
Participants can pitch their ideas at the following participating institutions: SU, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, as well as at the participating Technical and Vocational Education and Training College and False Bay College.
Nel explains that collaboration between tertiary institutions are a significant part of the initiative:
We have found that collaboration with other universities benefits everyone involved and I think it is absolutely crucial for all the tertiary institutions in the Western Cape to join hands around this and similar initiatives so that we can truly become the Silicon Cape and create a working ecosystem for new ventures.
The pitches are video recorded and go through a judging round whereby finalists are chosen to pitch at the final event, which will be hosted at the Nedbank Stellenbosch University LaunchLab on 14 October.
