International startups competition Seedstars World has announced a partnership with online travel company Bravofly Rumbo Group for the launch of a US$500,000 travel startups competition.
The new competition, called “Travel Track”, will be hosted in parallel with Seedstars World 2016, and will see participants go head-to-head to pitch for up to US$500,000 in funding.
Participants for Travel Track will be selected through a series of pitching competitions organised by Seedstars World across 30 countries globally.
Pierre-Alain Masson, co-founder of Seedstars World, said adding focus on to the travel industry the added focus on the travel industry is a strategic move, reflecting the innovative and vibrant nature of the online travel market.
“The travel industry has always been innovative, first breaking online barriers and now moving into mobile commerce. With more than 1.1 billion people travelling out of their home country in 2014 alone, there is a huge market potential and I believe that it is important for Bravofly Rumbo Group to stay close to the innovation and startup space, as it will be, of course, a driver for growth,” Masson said.
The 2016 Seedstars World competition – to be held in February 2016 – will involve a separate competition to select the best global travel startup; at which Bravofly Rumbo Group’s co-founder will act as judge.
Seedstars World chief executive officer (CEO) Alisee de Tonnac said the competition expects to expand from its current footprint of 36 countries, to over 50 participating countries next year.
“During the 2014 tour, we visited 36 countries and received more than 1500 applications. For the third edition, we expect to scale to 50 countries as we continue to build our network of startups, investors, incubators and other stakeholders, which aims to positively impact economic development and job creation,” de Tonnac said.
Disrupt Africa reported seven African startups made it through to the Seedstars World final, taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland, with startups pitching for US$500,000 in equity funding.
