2019 Winners Announced: Southern Africa Startup Awards

2019 Winners Announced: Southern Africa Startup Awards — South Africa Chapter

2019 Winners Announced: Southern Africa Startup Awards — South Africa Chapter
The startups and startup supporters who will represent South Africa at the Southern Africa Startup Awards regional finals have been announced.

Southern Africa Startup Awards is a circuit of the world renowned Global Startup Awards.The Awards provides an annual spotlight on tech startups in regions across the globe. Each individual regional award places a heavy focus on unearthing and rewards the very best from within their respective ecosystems & connecting each of the countries to create a stronger united brand.

The Awards are carried out in three rounds in each region. First, national nominations are opened, then nominees are shortlisted with the guidance of our Ambassadors, then announced for the voting process to start. A public vote, together with a judging process by the jury panel will determine the national winners in each category from each participating country. The national winners will move on to the Grand Finale for the selection of the regional winners. Finally, 6 regional category winners will compete at the Global Startup Awards..

Southern Africa Startup Awards partnered with SA Innovation Summit to host the South African Chapter in Cape Town on the 12th of September 2019 at the SA Innovation Summit annual event.

The event was hosted by Nomalanga Sitole, Founder of The Voice Within. Over 270 startup ecosystem stakeholders and leaders in business attended the function to award, recognise and celebrate key players in South Africa’s startup ecosystem.
19 winners in 19 categories were selected out of 73 finalists through public voting, and an adjudication process.

The event started with a welcome note from Mckevin Ayaba, CEO of Setup A Startup, the umbrella company of the Southern Africa Startup Awards. He applauded the Finalists, the Juges, Ambassador, Advisors and the Partners. He mentioned that the initiative focuses on creating an enabling platform to accelerate the growth of young leaders in the country and Africa, by recognising their achievements and creating local and international connections for them.
“There is no better approach to solving challenges than the famous saying “two heads are better than one.” Whether creating internal partnerships between colleagues or departments, to larger partnerships between businesses, harnessing the strengths and abilities of others from different corners of one’s ecosystem is one of the most strategic ways for businesses to scale their innovation and solve complex challenges.

In today’s fast-paced environment, a “do-it-alone” approach is not the best strategy for growth. Companies that initially grew organically need to look for new ways to drive collaborative and create innovation that delivers on what their customers need today – and in the future”.

The event proceeded with Keynote from Dave Romero, Group CEO of Seedlife Caban Impact Investment, Audrey Verhaeghe, Chairman of SA Innovation Summit, Arno Smit, Co-founder and Head of Product at FundedByMe and 2018 Southern Africa Startup Awards winner in both Fintech and Startup of the Year, Charles Savage, CEO of EasyEquities.

An esteemed panel which included Vuyisa Qabaka, Partner at HYBR Group, Lelemba Phiri, Principal and Gender-lens Angel Investor at Africa Trust Group, Jonathan Myburgh, Co-founder, Vibescout and Brandon Paschal, Head of Incubation, The LaunchLab had an engaging discussion on the one of the most challenging topics startups face daily ~ “Beyond VC: Finding the right funding model”. The panel was moderated by Barbara Mallinson, Founder and CEO of OBAMI.

Below is the list of the Winners announced on the night :

  • Best Startup Ecosystem Initiative: GrowthWheel (South Africa).
  • Best Co-working Space: Workshop 17 (South Africa).
  • Best FinTech Startup: Mama Money (South Africa).
  • Best FashionTech Startup: Zabantu (South Africa).
  • Best EduTech Startup: Why Toyz (South Africa).
  • Best HealthTech Startup: Appy Saúde (Angola).
  • Best Food/AgriTech Startup: YouFarm (Zimbabwe).
  • Best Water Crisis Management Solution: Lige Pty Ltd (South Africa).
  • Best Student Startup: Roomscout Ltd (Mauritius).
  • Best Social Impact Startup: Toolboksi (Tanzania).
  • Startup of the Year: LULA (South Africa).
  • Female Role Model of the Year in Tech: Lynette Hundermark (South Africa).
  • Brave Founder of the Year: Joseph Rutakangwa (Mauritius).
  • Founder of the Year: Chiinga Musonda & Lynn Musonda Phiri (Zambia).
  • Investor of the Year: Kalon Venture Partners (South Africa).
  • Best Newcomer: Momsays (South Africa).
  • Best Media Partner: The Loudhailer (South Africa).
  • Best Accelerator/Incubator: Dololo (Namibia).
  • People’s Choice: Muva (Mozambique).

 

Partnership/Sponsorship
“People don’t work in isolation: we need to be working together! It is our relationships all added together that are the foundation of an organized effort for change. We need lots of people to contribute their ideas, take a stand, and get the work done”. Oskar Malm Wiklund, Community Builder & Business Developer at Conneqtify.

Southern Africa Startup Awards is the first annual award to celebrate and recognize the spirit of innovation and achievement in the startup ecosystem in Southern Africa (SADC). Each of 15 SADC Country will produce a Country Winner from 19 categories that will move on to the Regional Grand Finale that is scheduled to take place from November 27-28, 2019, Johannesburg. Six Regional Winners will then move on to compete at Global Startup Awards.

Here is how it works: https://southernafricastartupawards.com/how-it-works
Regional Website: https://www.southernafricastartupawards.com
Global Website: https://www.globalstartupawards.com

For photos of the event please click here.

 

For Global Website click here.