Last week, we reported that 35 startups had been shortlisted to pitch to the DEMO Africa team for final selection. The final list is out, and you’ll be excited to know that Bisa and Kudigo, the 2 Ghanaian shortlists, made the final list.
The 30 final startups will launch at this year’s DEMO Africa conference in Johannesburg, 23-24 November 2017. Out of the 30, South Africa is represented by 8 startups, Nigeria 7, Kenya 6 and 2 each from Ghana and Zimbabwe. Cameroun, Uganda, Morocco, Tanzania and Senegal have 1 entry each. Four of the companies were picked through the Innovation Tours.
“The entries this year certainly kept up with the DEMO Africa spirit to produce innovative and creative ideas that are bound to transform the technology landscape and we are excited by the growth of innovation and technological advancement in Africa as portrayed by our finalists,” said Harry Hare, Executive Producer at DEMO Africa, while congratulating the finalists.
This year’s event is supported by the LIONS@frica Partners, City of Ekurhuleni, the Provincial Government of Gauteng and a host of other partners including Microsoft, Google, The African Business Angels Network, African Technology Foundation among others.
Here is a full list of the 30 finalists:
| Company | Country | Vertical |
|---|---|---|
| Temateq | Cameroon | Media – Gaming |
| Bisa | Ghana | Health |
| KudiGo Inc | Ghana | FinTech |
| Chimera IoT LLC | Kenya | FinTech |
| Shield Enterprise | Kenya | FinTech |
| ZOA Tech Limited | Kenya | FinTech |
| Daktari Africa | Kenya | Health |
| Taz Technologies | Kenya | Logistics |
| Optimetriks | Kenya | Retail |
| SOS SANTE | Morocco | Health |
| Mobile Forms Africa | Nigeria | Research |
| Atele Advanced Solutions | Nigeria | Energy |
| Peachwater Consulting | Nigeria | Energy |
| Suvenia | Nigeria | e-Commerce |
| Medsaf | Nigeria | Health |
| Pepperest | Nigeria | FinTech |
| GoSpot | Nigeria | Media |
| JokkoText | Senegal | e-Commerce |
| Airbuy | South Africa | Retail |
| K Measure Pty Ltd | South Africa | EdTech |
| Picadoo | South Africa | e-Commerce |
| Spazapp | South Africa | e-Commerce |
| Tapsnapp | South Africa | e-Commerce |
| FinChatBot | South Africa | FinTech |
| Intelligent Routing | South Africa | Logistics |
| Rooster | South Africa | Media |
| A-Trader | Tanzania | FinTech |
| Sellio | Uganda | e-Commerce |
| Dadala | Zimbabwe | FinTech |
| Round Shopper | Zimbabwe | e-Commerce |
Another point to note was this year’s process of getting the innovation tour winners to pitch for another regional selection. So if you have been following DEMO Africa for some time, you’ll notice that there are innovation tour events held during which the winners get to join the final list of startups to pitch. This year, something slightly different happened. After the regional tour which Practical Education Network won in Accra, the team had to pitch again against the winning team from Nigeria, which made them lose their spot in the final 30.
I understand that rules change, but I wish there was a nicer way to involve the innovation tour winners. We wish the best for all 30 startups. To especially Bisa and Kudigo, we say “Mo!”
Also published on Medium.
