East African mobile startup pitching competition PIVOT East takes place today in Nairobi, Kenya, with 25 startups pitching live in a bid to secure backing from among the audience of investors.
Disrupt Africa reported in June a panel of PIVOT East judges selected 25 startups to compete at the event, further narrowing down a shortlist of 50 semi-finalists from around East Africa.
Five finalists are competing in each of the five categories, which are mobile finance, mobile enterprise, mobile entertainment, mobile utilities, and mobile society and governance
The final 25 is dominated by Kenyan candidates – with 16 of the competitors from Kenya -, a further six are from Tanzania, while Rwanda and Uganda each have one startup competing.
While in previous years, PIVOT East has offered some prize money for the winning startup, at this year’s event participants will be pitching live to an audience of investors, and as such must convince the individuals in the audience to come forward with funding offers.
In the month leading up to PIVOT East, the 25 finalists have been participating in a month long programme of training, mentorship and coaching in preparation for the event.
