MyRunner named Zimbabwe's best startup at Seedstars Harare 2017

On October 27th during Seedstars Harare, MyRunner won the Zimbabwe round of Seedstars World and will represent the country at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland to compete for up to USD 1 million in equity investment and other prizes.

Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes brought its Zimbabwe round to a successful close during Seedstars Harare. The event took place last Friday at Impact Hub Harare, and 10 selected startups were invited to present their ideas in front of the local jury panel.

The local winner, myRunner, a platform that allows users to book their bus tickets and track its location was selected the most promising startup in Zimbabwe. As a part of the prize, myRunner will be participating at Seedstars Summit, taking place in Switzerland in April 2018, a weeklong training program with the opportunity to meet the other +75 winners, as well as investors and mentors from around the world. Traditionally, the final day of the Summit will be dedicated to pitching in front of an audience of 1000 attendees, with the possibility of winning up to the USD 1 million equity investment and other prizes.

Munch, a tech based, logistics, online food ordering company that connects hungry food lovers with local restaurants in their city came second, and Equities Nest, a platform will help you get started on the African stock markets with a few clicks, grabbed the last spot in the top 3.

Additionally, two additional prizes were annouced during the event. The civic tech prize went to Tipster, which is democratising the news making process by placing the power of the media into the hands of the ordinary people. The Best Learner prize, awarded to the startup that showed the most progress during the two day bootcamp organized at Impact Hub, went to Commonground, a peer-networking app that connects university students to share projects, ideas, and opportunities.

The 5 startups will be part of a Zimbabwe delegation that will attend the upcoming Africa Regional Summit in Maputo, Mozambique from the 12th to 14th of December. Tickets information and program are available here.

The ten startups pitched in front of a prestigious jury: Ethel Bangwayo, national economist at UNDP Zimbabwe, Nhena Nyagura, Chief Executive Officer at Dandemutande Investments, Nigel Daura, Managing Director at Daura Vanderbilt Digital Commerce, Sharon Wekwete, consultant at the Omidyar Network, and Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.

At the same time, Seedstars World is also working very closely with Enel Green Power to source the most innovative business models in the energy sectors and ones that are fostering socio-economic development in rural villages in Africa. Up to 5 best startups in this sector will be invited for an exclusive RES4Africa networking event taking place later this November in Nairobi and compete for an Africa Energy Prize which consists of a financial contribution and a three-month acceleration programme for a total value of up to $50,000.

Further support was provided by our regional Partners Orange and Microsoft4Afrika, our local ambassador Impact Hub Harare, and our local partners UNDP Zimbabwe and Dandemutande.

Continuing on its world tour of startup scenes in emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, Seedstars World’s next stop is Botswana to select the best startup. Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and/or develop profitable products for the global market.

About Seedstars

Seedstars is a global organisation with a mission to impact people's lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship.

We roam the globe to connect with the digital changemakers of the emerging world shaping a new wave of social change. Our teams tread on the entrepreneurial arena across five continents, breaking stories about startups set upon defying the status quo. Our target represents 85% of human population, the opportunities encompass billions of lives, the scope of impact is infinite.

We invest in people, we connect teams, we encourage risk. We empower entrepreneurial spirits to swim against the tide. Join us online or in person at our events anywhere around the globe. Join us as we seek to impact billions of lives in emerging markets.

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