Bus-booking startup MyRunner has won the Zimbabwean round of global early-stage startups competition Seedstars World, and will now go on to represent the country at the global final in Switzerland next year to compete for up to US$1 million in equity investment.
Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars World has been hosting local events across Africa this year, and has already picked winners in Mozambique, Tunisia, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola and Morocco.
Ten Zimbabwean startups pitched last Friday at Impact Hub Harare for a place in the final, with myRunner emerging the winner. The startup’s platform allows users to book bus tickets and track the vehicle’s location.
The startup will now participate at the Seedstars Summit next April, taking part in a week-long training programme where it will have the opportunity to meet the other winners as well as investors and mentors from around the world. The final day of the summit is dedicated to pitching in front of an audience of 1,000 attendees, with the possibility of winning up to the US$1 million equity investment and other prizes.
Food ordering startup Munch came second, while Equities Nest, a platform that helps people get started on African stock markets, was third. The civic tech prize went to news democratisation platform Tipster, while the best learner prize, awarded to the startup that showed the most progress during the two day bootcamp organised at Impact Hub, went to networking app Commonground.
All five startups will be part of the Zimbabwean delegation that will attend the upcoming Africa Regional Summit in Maputo, Mozambique on December 12-14.
