Seedstars World has opened applications for the South African leg of the global seed-stage startup competition, with startups from Cape Town, Durban, Soweto and Johannesburg invited to apply.
Seedstars World hosted heats in 13 African countries last year, with South African mobile recruitment platform Giraffe named the overall winner, taking home US$500,000 in investment.
This year total prize money has been increased to US$1 million, while Seedstars World will visit 20 African countries. Applications are open now for pre-selection events in Cape Town (May 27), Durban (June 8), and Soweto (June 14), with the top three from each city set to be invited to pitch at the grand finale at the Standard Bank Incubator in Johannesburg.
“With Giraffe as the global winner of our competition, we have proven that South Africa has world class entrepreneurial talent. This year is about casting our net even wider and giving the opportunity to the whole country to participate and become part of a global journey,” said Marcello Schermer, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.
“We have found a great partner in Standard Bank who is investing a lot into making this ecosystem competitive and inclusive on a local and global level.”
Jayshree Naidoo, ead of the Standard Bank Incubator, said Seedstars World had been a great partner to mobilise support and exposure for the startup community in South Africa and the continent.
“Given the success of our partnership in South Africa in 2015, we are proud to once again be the country sponsor of Seedstars World. We look forward to another great year as we expand the Seedstars competition to include three provinces, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban,” he said.
