By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Leading Nigerian digital publishing company, Publiseer, has scored another point with its selection for a pitch competition taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
The tournament, tagged Disrupt Africa Live Pitch Competition, will precisely take place on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
As part of the 10 tech startups selected, Publiseer will have three minutes to pitch on stage at the AHUB East event, with the best startup winning a trip to pitch at AfricaCom in Cape Town in November alongside other prizes.
This is the first live startup pitching competition to be hosted by Disrupt Africa and Publiseer said informed of this development by the co-founder of Disrupt Africa, Gabriella Mulligan.
The competition will be taking place at the East Africa Com event at the Radisson Blu in Nairobi’s Upper Hill.
According to Disrupt Africa, the event “will see up to 10 tech startups selected to pitch their innovative solutions live on stage in front of an esteemed jury and audience of potential investors and corporate partners.
“The winning startup will earn an all-expense-paid trip to Cape Town to pitch their startup at AfricaCom, Africa’s premier tech conference, in November 2018.”
Other prizes to be won at the competition include a marketing package worth US$500 from Disrupt Africa, Africa’s foremost startup news outlet, and a six months free membership of the Nairobi Garage Club SPace on Ngong Road. According to Tom Jackson, a co-founder of Disrupt Africa, ” For more than three years now, Disrupt Africa has been the vital link between innovative African tech startups and investors, partners and other opportunities to grow their businesses. It only seems right that we expand our mission into the physical arena, and we are delighted to hold our first live pitching competition at AHUB East in Nairobi in May.”
“We’re very excited to offer a new platform for Africa’s startup community to show off its innovative flair. We look forward to selecting the cream of East Africa’s startup crop to join us for our inaugural Live Pitch Competition – we’re sure it will be an inspiring show, and we hope it unlocks great new opportunities for all involved,” said Gabriella Mulligan.
According to Hannah Clifford, a director of Nairobi Garage, “As the city’s leading entrepreneurship hub, Nairobi Garage is very proud to support the East African leg of the Disrupt Africa Live Pitch Competition. The day promises to be an exceptional chance to see Nairobi’s top tech talent take to the stage, and we look forward to welcoming the winners at our newly opened Club Space.”
The competition received several applications from African startups that are less than five years old and the team reviewed and selected the top ten startups with original solutions able to disrupt the social or economic status quo, have a proven traction and looking for funding in order to take their business to the next level.
This news comes three months after Publiseer was accepted to the Ayada Lab Incubation program local workshop in Abuja, organized by the Goethe Institut and Institut Francais, in partnership with Ventures Platform Foundation.
Adedapo Adesanya