Global startup competition Seedstars World is headed to Mozambique on 14 June. This year, the initiative is calling on startups from across the country, even those residing outside of Maputo, to compete.
Seedstars World has received support from Standard Bank and local ambassador UX Information Technologies, among several other entities.
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“Standard Bank’s purpose is Africa is our home and we drive her growth,” said Victor Jardim, Head of Personal and Business Banking of Standard Bank Mozambique in a press release to Ventureburn.
“To this end, technology is a factor that will play a critical part in changing lives and fulfilling aspirations across the continent and we see entrepreneurial ICT competitions such as Seedstars as part of an important journey to showcase the tech innovations and entrepreneurs coming out of Africa, and specifically Mozambique, on the global stage,” Jardim continued.
To qualify to pitch, startups need to be less than two-years old, have raised less than $500,000 in funding and have a working example of their product or service. Startups also need to have existing traction and the capacity for regional and global scalability.
Other than Mozambique, the competition’s scouting team will also travel to 79 other countries in search of the best startups that will compete for up to $500,000 in equity funding at next year’s Seedstars Global Summit in Switzerland.
“We are extremely proud to have been working with Seedstars for the past three years to develop the Mozambican ecosystem and ensure that the best and brightest from our country can compete at the world stage. Our entrepreneurs are becoming ever more bold (sic) and ambitious, and this is what’s needed to succeed,” said Frederico Silva, co-founder of UX Information Technologies.
Claudia Makadristo, the regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World commented on the country’s previous representative, BlackBox TV.
“BlackBox TV represented Mozambique well during the global summit and was nominated for the most innovative startup. But also runner-up IzyShop, who managed to gain significant traction. We see clearly that the quality of entrepreneurs improves every year and that the ecosystem is growing due to so many committed partners. In addition, we are really seeing the ecosystem come together and more collaboration between the ecosystem players.”
With the closing date for applications around the corner, eligible startups can apply here.
