Côte d’Ivoire entrepreneurs can apply for Seedstars World pitching competition

Côte d’Ivoire tech entrepreneurs have a chance to partake in the next Seedstars World challenge. The pitching competition is looking for the 10 best startups in the country.

“We see that Abidjan is [sic] become more and more vibrant, with a lot of startup activity going on. We have also noticed that more entrepreneurship support organisations are becoming interested in entrepreneurial activity,” says associate for Seedstars World, Claudia Makadristo, in a press release to Ventureburn.

The overall winner of the Côte d’Ivoire leg of Seedstars World will compete against contestants from over 60 other countries for a chance to win up to $US1-million in prizes, with the main prize consisting of a US$500 000 equity investment.

For the Abidjan leg, Seedstars World is partnering with Transforming Education in Cocoa Communities (TRECC), which is an Abidjan-based coalition of public and private stakeholders looking to improve the quality of education in the country.

“We are sponsoring Seedstars Abidjan and the Transforming Education Prize to support Cote d’Ivoire in becoming a hub for education enterprises providing affordable market-based solutions that achieve quality education in rural areas throughout West Africa,” says TRECC Country Director, Sabina Vigani.

“We are excited to see what the vibrant start-up scene in Abidjan has to offer and are looking forward to building relationships with the local social entrepreneur community,” continues Vigani.

The event will be partnering with the CEO and founder of IFID Solution, Rites Massamba, who will act as the local ambassador for the event.

“I am supporting the initiative because of my personal passion for the youth and entrepreneurship. Together with Seedstars World we are creating an opportunity for entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire to show what talent the country has. I am excited to find the next diamond of the country, but also to shine light on entrepreneurship in general,” says Massambe.

It will also be supported by CO.LAB., Swiss Embassy, Orange, and Ovillage.

The event will take place on 29 August at the CO.LAB. Abidjan.

Those wanting to enter will need to have a startup that’s scalable, less than two years old, and has received less than US$50 000 in funding. Entries can be found on the Seedstars website.

Feature image: abdallahh via Flickr.