SA wins over half of the prize categories at Southern Africa Startup Awards finals

SA companies and entrepreneurs have won 11 of the 19 categories at the finals of this year’s Southern Africa Startup Awards (SASAwards).

The winners of this year’s edition of the SASAwards finals were announced at an event held in Johannesburg last Thursday (28 November).

Setup A Startup CEO McKevin Ayaba (pictured above), whose firm is the umbrella company of the awards, said in a statement today that the purpose of the initiative is “regional connectivity and global visibility”.

“It’s about celebrating Africa and putting African startups, the people behind them, and the organisations that work alongside these visionaries on the map,” added Ayaba.

The 19 SASAwards winners were selected from 346 regional finalists from 12 countries

The 19 SASAwards winners were selected out of 346 regional finalist from 12 countries, they will now go through to represent the continent at the Global Startup Awards.

Winners of the Global Startup Awards will be announced next Friday (13 December) at the initiative’s grand finale in China.

The 2019 SASAward winners are:

• Best Startup Ecosystem Initiative: GrowthWheel (SA) is a visual toolbox and online platform used by business advisors, incubators, and entrepreneurship educators to help businesses make decisions and take action.

• Best Co-working Space: Workshop 17 (SA) is company that offers co-working office space.

• Best FinTech Startup: Mama Money (SA) is a safe, low-cost and convenient international money transfer operator.

• Best FashionTech Startup: Zabantu (SA) is an online fashion store built for local fashion creatives and street vendors.

• Best EduTech Startup: Why Toyz (SA) provides high-quality curated educational content for kids aged three to seven that can be 3D printed at home.

• Best HealthTech Startup: Appy Saúde (Angola) is a mobile app and web portal that strives to provide useful health information to users in Angola and is the largest health database in the country.

• Best Food/AgriTech Startup: YouFarm (Zimbabwe) provides farmers with access to collateral-free finance by getting people to invest in crops and livestock and share the profits when the produce goes to market.

• Best Water Crisis Management Solution: Lige (SA) produces pure, clean water from air.

• Best Student Startup: Roomscout (Mauritius), the first student-centred hospitality company based on the island.

• Best Social Impact Startup: Toolboksi (Tanzania) is an online platform that partners with Tanzanian artisans and fundis to showcase and promote their products, services and talents.

• Startup of the Year: Lula (SA) is a mobility startup that connects corporate commuters to private shuttles on their way to work, saving them money and freeing up their time.

• Female Role Model of the Year in Tech: Lynette Hundermark (SA) is an established industry expert in the digital and mobile space.

• Brave Founder of the Year: Joseph Rutakangwa (Mauritius) is the founder of Rwazi which provides retail companies with real-time data on the availability, visibility and pricing of their products compared to those of their competitors.

• Founder of the Year: Chiinga Musonda and Lynn Musonda Phiri (Zambia) are the co-founders of Savanna Premium Chocolate which they created with the aim of challenging the narrative that premium chocolates are made in Western countries.

• Investor of the Year: Kalon Venture Partners (SA) is a Johannesburg-based venture capital firm investing in disruptive digital technologies.

• Best Newcomer: Momsays (South Africa) is a platform created for moms to voice their opinions and review products.

• Best Media Partner: The Loudhailer (SA) communications agency specialising in supporting businesses with social, economic and environmental impact goals.

• Best Accelerato or Incubator: Dololo (Namibia) enables organisations and leaders to connect with the next generation of change-makers to better cater for the millennial market, both internally for their employees and externally for customers.

• People’s Choice: Muva (Mozambique) is a social incubator focused on expanding innovative approaches to female economic empowerment.

Read more: Here are the 2019 Southern Africa Startup Awards regional finalists

Featured image: Setup A Startup CEO McKevin Ayaba (McKevin Ayaba via Facebook)