Expo & Content Sessions: 12 - 14 Nov 2024
VIP & Partner Events: 11-14 Nov 2024
Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town
Africa Ignite Pitch Competition 2024
Empowering Africa's Next Generation of Innovators
AfricaIgnite Pitch Competition
AfricaIgnite Pitch Competition 2024, in partnership with the Startup World Cup and powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures, is a premier event designed to spotlight Africa's most promising start-ups. This competition is an incredible opportunity for innovators to showcase their ideas, gain significant visibility, and connect with potential investors and partners.
Start-ups will compete on stage in front of hundreds of attendees, including other start-ups, investors, and tech leaders. The winner of the Africa Ignite Pitch Competition will advance to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in 2025 in San Francisco, where they will compete for a $1,000,000 investment prize alongside the best start-ups from around the globe.
Meet our 2024 Pitch Competition Finalists
Buddy Learning
Buddy Learning is a peer tutoring platform empowering youth through education and reducing unemployment, now pioneering an AI-powered tutor—BuddyAI—that supports South African students across all official languages on WhatsApp, covering grade 1-12 IEB and NSC subjects.
JOBJACK
JOBJACK’s SaaS platform automates the entry-level recruitment process - the platform includes a fully automated ATS (Applicant Tracking System), proprietary entry-level psychometric assessments, and built-in credit and risk checks, to help our clients find and hire the best deskless workforce to grow their businesses, quickly and easily.
OneClick-Med
OneClick-Med is digital healthcare platform streamlining patient data management, access to medical services, and interoperability across Africa’s Healthcare Ecosystem.
Pysis Technologies
Growwr
Owanga
Vambo AI
WaziEats
Digitalised end-to-end services centred around market linkages to foster informal vendor financial inclusion.
SERAPAY
Serapay helps African SMEs access markets beyond their geographical borders through seamless cross-social commerce wallets, Lastmile logistics, and dropshipping.
Lux AI
LuxAI specializes in designing tailored AI-driven automation strategies and solutions that optimize productivity and create scalable operations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Meet Our Judges
Egla Ntumba
Managing Partner
MsFiT Ventures
Sherif Nessim
Managing Partner
Jedar Capital
Alexandria Procter
Founder
House of Pharos
Philani Mzila
Investment Manager
54 Collective
What will you gain?
Participating in the Africa Ignite Pitch Competition offers numerous exclusive benefits designed to propel your startup to new heights.
Pitch to Influential Leaders
Deliver your pitch live in front of top industry leaders and investors, offering unmatched exposure and potential funding opportunities.
Personalised Feedback & Mentorship
Receive one-on-one feedback and mentoring from our expert panel of judges, tailored to help you refine your business strategy and pitch.
Enhanced Networking
Participate in bespoke networking sessions designed to connect you with industry leaders, potential partners, and like-minded entrepreneurs.
Chance to Win a Million-Dollar Investment
The winner of the Africa Ignite Pitch Competition will advance to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, with a chance to compete for a $1,000,000 investment prize.
Important Application Criteria
Startup Criteria
• Seed funding under £5 million (or local equivalent)
• 1 - 10 employees
• Under 3 years in business
• Africa based
Scaleup Criteria
• Seed funding under £15 million (or local equivalent)
• 10+ employees
• 20% YOY revenue growth over 3 years
• Africa based
Darryl Epstein
Founder & CEO
Delta Scan
Hear from of 2023 WINNER!
"The Startup World Cup was incredible. I got to taste the real startup culture and experience the people and environment that facilitate the growth of the world's top-performing companies. This experience helped me greatly in taking my company to the next level."
"The learning aspect was fantastic, especially spending a day with top lecturers from business universities and understanding how the investor system operates."
"Being in the final among the top founders from 42 countries was an unbelievable experience. Sharing our journeys and learning about the investor environments in different countries highlighted our unique paths."
"The experience was invaluable, and we had a line of investors interested in us after the event."
DeltaScan's Journey of Innovation at AfricaIgnite with Darryl Epstein
Join us for an engaging interview with Darryl Epstein, founder of DeltaScan, at Africa Tech Festival 2023. As the winner of the AfricaIgnite Pitch Competition, Darryl discusses DeltaScan's innovative approach to structure inspection using drones and AI. He reflects on the importance of resilience in innovation and shares his ambition to scale the company globally with the right funding.