This year’s Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa, the continent’s biggest independent startup ecosystem competition, named seventy-one businesses across Africa as regional champions.
The list of regional winners includes representatives from 23 different African nations.
In the 2022/23 season, 8,272 sides participated from all 54 African states, and 71 were crowned champions in their respective regions in Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and Central Africa.
GSA Africa, set to launch in 2021, serves as a venue for displaying and expanding Africa’s most innovative firms. Startups that champion Web 3.0 technologies, sustainable business models, green innovation, and workplace diversity were of special interest in this year’s competition, which sought solutions in the areas of agriculture, climate change, commerce, education, healthcare, and mobility & logistics.
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Contestants had to first compete on a national level to have a shot at making it to the regional finals. An impartial group of judges made the final decisions, taking into account the whole African technology landscape.
Two African businesses from March 2023’s season finale were crowned Global Winners. Kubik, an Ethiopian green-tech business, was named “Startup of the Year,” beating out more than 120 companies from 115 countries, while Emata, a Ugandan fintech, was named “Best Newcomer.”
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Regional section of awarded startups
Thirteen Egyptian companies were recognised as champions in the Northern Africa competition, with two others, from Morocco and Tunisia, placing as runners-up. A similar pattern emerged in Southern Africa, where eleven awards went to startups based in South Africa while the remaining prizes went to competitors from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia.
In Eastern Africa, startups from Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia all received home hardware, while those from Mauritius, Rwanda, and Tanzania all won awards. Nigerian startups dominated Western Africa, taking home six awards, followed by three from Ghana. Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Senegal, and Benin all had winners.
According to GSA Africa and GIIG co-founder Jo Griffiths, “With 747 finalists across all five regions, this year’s competition did not disappoint!” when commenting on this year’s regional winners. Our team of judges was astounded by the quality and range of ideas from around the continent that are actively working to address some of our most pressing issues. It was intriguing to see that 34% of this year’s participants were working on green innovation in countries as diverse as Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, and Somalia. These fresh startups are demonstrating that Africa will become a leading technology hub”.
Caitlin Nash, co-founder of the Global Innovation and Investment Group (GIIG) and GSA Africa, made the following statement at GITEX Africa 2023: “These winners represent the best startups in both their home nation and region — and it’s all the more meaningful that we announce them here in Morocco, the industrial powerhouse of Africa. This competition aims to connect the best concepts and innovations from throughout the African continent with the people, markets, and communities where they may have the most impact. This conference has served as a perfect springboard for the international expansion plans of these startups, and we are excited to see them excel.
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Global Startup Awards winners open to a special opportunity
This was announced this week in Marrakech, Morocco, during the opening edition of GITEX Africa 2023. GITEX Africa 2023 is the continent’s largest meeting of innovation stakeholders, bringing together global leaders in the public, commercial, and civic sectors to accelerate the adoption of next-generation technology in Africa.
This year saw a significant influx of successful Central African businesses, with innovators from Cameroon taking home five awards and the Democratic Republic of the Congo taking home four. There were other winners from the Congo and Gabon.
The 71 winners from each regional competition have qualified for the GSA Africa Continental Finals, where they will vie for the title of GSA Africa Champion. At the GSA Grand Finale, these last few companies will present their ideas among the world’s leading entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem builders.
Winners from Africa will have the special opportunity to engage with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the competition’s sole investment partner. The organization aims to discover, finance, and develop African innovations that have a global impact through the GIIG Africa Fund and the GIIG Africa Foundation.