Demo Africa to showcase 11 South African finalists

DEMO Africa, a flagship initiative of Lions@Africa, helps connect startups across the continent to relevant markets, offering them an opportunity to bring their dreams to life.

This year’s event sees 11 South African startups representing the nation out of a total of 30 finalists.

Demo Africa, which saw 723 applicants, began in Nairobi, before moving to Kenya, Lagos and Nigeria. For the first time ever, the event will take place in Johannesburg.

The 723 applicants were whittled down to 131, coming down to the final 30. Eleven of the finalists are South African, while six are Nigerian, five are Kenyan, three represent Ghana. The countries least represented are Morocco, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, which all have one startup representative.

“The entries this year certainly kept up with the DEMO Africa spirit to produce innovative and creative ideas that are bound to transform the technology landscape and we are excited by the growth of innovation and technological advancement in Africa as portrayed by our finalists,” said Harry Hare, executive producer for Demo Africa.

Finalists have innovative products in 11 verticals which include: logistical services and products, retail, ecommerce, banking,  finance, media, renewable energy as well as health and agriculture. This is good news as it shows the scope in which African businesses as well as capabilities are advancing.

Banking and financial technologies saw the most entries as well as media, ecommerce and education.

The decision wasn’t an easy one for Hare or those judging the applicants.

“It was difficult to come up with this list. Any of the short-listed companies could make an impression on the DEMO Africa stage due to the quality and their potential. But we can only have 30 companies. I would like to congratulate all the companies that participated and encourage them to continue building their business.”

This year’s Demo Africa will take place from the 25 to the 26 August 2016 in Johannesburg. For more information click here

Featured image: Franklin Pi via Flickr