Nairobi, June 22nd 2016, DEMO Africa 2016 has short listed a total of 131 startups during its first round of adjudication.
The 131 applications were narrowed down from 723 applications that were submitted.
The applications were received from 46 countries, a more than 30% increase from last year’s event which had attracted 26 countries.
“We are very excited at the response we received from the startups and startup owners.
This goes to show how DEMO Africa is becoming a critical piece of the entrepreneurship
development agenda in the continent,” said Mr. Harry Hare, Executive Director, DEMO
Africa.
Nigeria had the highest number of applications at 217, followed by Kenya at 154 and South
Africa at 104. Other countries that had a good showing were Uganda at 23 applications,
Cameroon 17, Ghana 16, Zimbabwe 14, Egypt and Tanzania 12, Ivory Coast 8, Ethiopia 7,
Zambia and Rwanda submitted 6 applications each.
This year, DEMO Africa also attracted participation of African diaspora entrepreneurs with those in the US topping the list at 15 applications and Belgium 4.
Applications were also received from other countries outside Africa and these include the
United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, South Korea, Costa Rica and Afghanistan.
“In the past four years, we have been reaching more people and more countries year on
year, spreading the entrepreneurship spirit throughout the continent,” Mr. Hare continued.
Out of the 131 companies the judges will have to narrow down and identify only 30 companies who will then launch their products at the DEMO Africa platform in Johannesburg, South Africa on 25th and 26th August.
Twelve judges from across the continent are currently reviewing the applications and will
later short list 50 startups that will then go into the next round of adjudication.
Speaking on the same, Mr. Mbugua Njihia, Event Director, DEMO Africa said,
“We have developed a 3 tier adjudication process that makes sure we have the companies with the highest potential to have the opportunity to launch their business and products at the DEMO Africa platform.”
The adjudication process will continue until the end of June and the announcement of the
final 30 is expected in the first week of July.
About DEMO Africa
DEMO Africa is one of the flagship initiatives of LIONS@frica and aims to connect African startups to the global ecosystem. DEMO Africa is the place where the most innovative companies from African countries get a platform to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.
DEMO Africa allows start-ups from all over Africa to meet VCs, investors, tech acquisition specialists, IT buyers and media from across the region and around the globe. The Start-ups are given an opportunity to launch their products to a tech eco-system.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of 2016 DEMO Africa
