After the memorandum of understanding we signed with A-Venture at the BRICS summit last week, we embarked on our first project together, which was collaborating to host the GEC+Africa lead-up activity, where hundreds of start-ups applied to pitch to stand a chance to be featured at the grand finale in Cape Town, 2024.
The pitch took place at the private/public sector-owned accelerator in Algeria, seeing a dozen start-ups pitch to a panel of judges.
My colleague, Mahlatse Tolamo, 22 On Sloane’s head of stakeholder relations and Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) managing director, was in Algeria to participate in the pitch, while rubbing shoulders with various stakeholders in the ecosystem.
This was the third lead-up activity we have hosted, as we near the GEC+2024, scheduled to be held in Cape Town on March 13 and 14 , where they will compete with fellow rising African entrepreneurs as they pitch to showcase their innovations to global investors in a bid to win their share of a $100 000 (nearly R2 million) cash prize.
The GEC+Africa partnered with Google to facilitate the online boot camp for the selected start-ups, before their pitching. The boot camp session, which was led by the head of Startup Ecosystems in Africa at Google, Folarin Aiyegbusi, prepared and engaged the start-ups with motivating tips and pointers around maximising their business potential, perfecting personal branding, ensuring effective value proposition communication and pitching time management. The results were evident on pitch day, as all presentations captured the attention of the judges.
I was impressed by my colleague’s enthusiasm when she took the stage to set the tone, sharing valuable insights about the upcoming congress and emphasising the incredible value that start-ups, SMEs, policymakers, investors and Entrepreneur Support Organisations stand to gain by participating and partnering in GEC+ Africa 2024.
Algeria Venture Group managing director Sid Ali Zerrouki and GEN Algeria’s vice-president Zafira Ouartsi, whom I met recently during the signing ceremony in Johannesburg, commended GEN’s efforts to connect Africa’s vibrant entrepreneurial networks and draw attention to the value of exploring the various budding innovations that permeate the continent’s entrepreneurial landscape.
I watched virtually, in what was an inspiring and captivating two-and-a-half hours of pitching, before deliberations took place by the judging panel, comprisingf 22 On Sloane investment associate Zinhle Mncube, Algeria Venture head of operations Yacine Chikhar and IT consultant Younes Grar deciding on the three best business pitches of the day, one of which would be receiving an all-expenses paid trip to GEC+AFRICA in 2024.
The third-place position was awarded to Immotify, a comprehensive app that facilitates the search, verification and purchase of property from verified sellers in real time.
The runner-up was Garini, which digitally rents out monthly parking spaces in urban cities.
The gold medal, so to speak, went to the “under-thirty-minutes food and grocery delivery” application, Efendim. The founder, Aimen Boukhouidem, expressed his gratitude and pride for being chosen as a competitor for next year’s congress and humbly accepted the award for his team’s work in harnessing the all-inclusive app that functions in four languages and cities, as well as chat, wallet and driver interfaces. With more than 16 000 orders processed in six months, more than 18 000 downloads and just under 500 working drivers, Efendim ticked all the boxes required to remain in the running for the grand prize.
After the resounding success of the Algeria lead-up activity, we at 22 On Sloane, look forward to hosting the fourth pitch competition in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 13, 2023, as the search for more ground-breaking businesses and entrepreneurs continues.
Kizito Okechukwu is the executive head of 22 On Sloane, Africa’s largest start-up campus; and the co-chair of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Africa.
* To find out more about the next pitching competition taking place in your country, visit https://gecafrica.co/lead-up-activities/
To register for the GEC+Africa Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, for March 13 and 14, 2024, visit https://gecafrica.co/
BUSINESS REPORT