A company responsible for constructing affordable, modern greenhouses has been recognised as the best startup in Kenya. This follows the winning pitch of Illuminum Greenhouse Kenya, which alongside eight other startups, competed in the regional competition for Seedstars World — a global startup competition for emerging markets.
Illuminum Greenhouse Kenya has been invited to go to Switzerland in February next year where it will stand a chance of winning US$500 000 in equity investment. Other opportunities up for grabs include a US$500 000 equity investment from lastminutegroup.com as well as a US$50 000 grant for the best space-focused startup.
No ad to show here.
Seedstars World kicked-off its seven-month Africa tour in May this year with a mission to visit 12 different countries around the continent — the most it has ever covered. Some of these regions include Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Botswana.
Read more: These 21 green startups from SA, Kenya have been made investment-ready
One of the pitching competition’s judges, Benjamin Wandawanda, is the executive head of business banking at CfC Stanbic Kenya. In a recent press release sent to Ventureburn, Wandawanda congratulated the winning team:
When you are in a country that is considered the hotbed of innovation and startups, walking away with this prize is no mean feat. We wish them well and CfC Stanbic Bank will be at hand to ensure that their dream is valid by providing the financial support and advice that they may need going forward.
Illuminum Greenhouse Kenya is hailed for its solution to help smallholder farmers to improve production and increase efficiency through the use of new modern technologies. One of these technologies is an automated drip irrigation kit.
Lynk, a company that uses technology to improve the life of workers and customers came in second, while Totohealth came in third for its mobile tech that seeks to save the lives of children.
Continuing its world tour of startup scenes in emerging markets in Africa, Seedstars World’s next stop is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where 11 startups will pitch for chance to be recognised as the country’s best.
