After months of searching, screening and selection, the final five qualifying businesses for the next round of the AYO Scaling Africa Series have been selected.
Run by technology investment group AYO Technology Solutions, in partnership with the SA Innovation Summit, the series looks to assist tech entrepreneurs in taking their businesses to the next level.
It provides digital and tech start-ups in SA with a platform to build capacity for growth and provides market exposure.
According to a statement, the five finalists were chosen for their standout proposition within the landscape of tech business in SA, as well as for clearly articulating and demonstrating their potential for rapid growth and sustainability.
The founders, and their teams, will now test their mettle against one another, with the overall winner claiming the R100 000 cash prize. However, the AYO Scaling Africa Series goes beyond a single cash injection, as these businesses will later also be considered for more in-depth investment funding and support from AYO and its management team.
Jeni Kostova, group marketing executive at AYO, comments: “The technology space has always been a competitive landscape; even more so now, given the rate of innovation we are experiencing since the COVID-19-related lockdown-induced high-speed shift to digital in 2020.
“As an investment group, we are always on the lookout for businesses that are on the brink of greatness and that solve a particular socio-economic need using technology, who require the development capital to get them there. That’s why this competition is such a good fit for AYO, and judging from the quality of entries we have reviewed, the future for SA looks bright.”
The demo day will be held on 28 July. Attendees can find the registration link to the event here.
The audience can invest mock money in their favourite start-up, using the preapp, available in the App Store and the Play Store.
The audience member with the highest return on investment will receive a complimentary ticket to the upcoming SA Innovation Summit, taking place from 21 to 23 September.
“This is one competition that goes beyond the prize money to include not only the potential for real investment funding, but also the investment in skills, experience and new markets that the investor can offer the winner,” says Dr Audrey Verhaeghe, SA Innovation Summit founder and chairman.
Top five businesses to pitch:
Dove Air provides instant access to urgent medical supplies to those across the world through advanced drone technology and has serviced over 2 000 hospitals, helping local communities with vital services.
LiquidGold Africa offers solutions for sanitation waste, with globally designed, patented and manufactured dry toilets. The company’s focus is to save precious water resources and create new products from toilet resources (human waste) in a simple and cost-effective manner.
The Marking App is a data-free mobile and web application that automatically marks school assessments while giving learners access to immediate feedback, online support and study material.
Memeza Shout is the first black-woman-owned company to provide South Africa’s first, patented public alarm system, a platform combining physical alarms, neighbours, community safety groups and the police to collectively fight crime.
The Red Cup Village is an on-demand consumer health products and medical devices manufacturing company, utilising 3D printing and 3D scanning tech in combination with material science. The devices are customised to an individual's face and have the ability to monitor a user's health condition through an application that sends an alert when they are running out of oxygen.
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