Nigerian startup Ladda in top five to win Seedstars competition

Nigerian investment platform Ladda is one of five startups that will face off in the final round of the Seedstars World Competition.

The annual contest revealed the five finalists on 4 May.

Ladda is in the running to win the grand prize of $500 000 in equity funding

This announcment follows the completion of the regional finals where the Lagos-based startup proved victorious.

Seedstars looks for next big startup

Seedstars, an entrepreneurial company based in Switzerland, launched the competition in 2013.

In 2020, the competition received over 4 000 startup applications from around the world. 94 made it through the local stages of the competition after participating in the Seedstars Investment Readiness Program. After that, that number shrunk to 20 in the regional stages.

Ladda is a mobile finance app that offers users access to micro-investment opportunities. The app is available to download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Competing against Ladda are four other startups in the fields of finance, healthcare, and logistics. They include Fulfillment Bridge (Tunisia), Pegasi (Venezuela), IMAN (Uzbekistan), and Finology (Malaysia).

“These five startups have proven that no matter how difficult times may get, innovation is still at the forefront,” said Seedstars World lead of Seedstars, Daria Khlopova. “We can’t wait to see them at the Grand Finale.”

During the final round of the competition, the startups will pitch their businesses to a judging panel. After which, a winner will be announced. The event will also include roundtable discussions with experts on tech and education.

In addition to the grand prize, Seedstars will also award prizes in several categories. The categories include Childhood Development, Climate Change, and Women Empowerment.

The Seedstars Grand Finale will take place online on 20 May. To register to watch the finale, check out the Seedstars website.

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Feature image: Supplied