Startup World coming to Africa

DEVELOPMENT

By Hudson Kazonta, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Startup World, the global competition to find the next Facebook or Google, is coming to Africa this September.

The pitching competitions for entrepreneurs will be held in Cape Town, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Kigali, Rwanda; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, early this month.

The initiative is to promote entrepreneurship and startup culture globally, giving entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their startup in front of international media on the Next Web.

Technology startups can apply now to pitch in front of a panel of judges.

The winner will be announced at the event and invited to Silicon Valley to compete in a grand final in 2013. Regional prizes are worth up to $37,000 with Rackspace hosting and Echo real-time streams included in the winning package.

In order to enter Startup World, your startup must have been launched within the last two years, must have received external funding up to $500,000, and participants must have a demonstrable product or service.

Also, participants must be prepared to talk about the product or service publicly and be recorded for public broadcast. Pitch and application documents must be in English and the startup can be from across any field, but must be for profit.