SAMELOGIC NAMED JAMAICA’S BEST STARTUP AT SEEDSTARS KINGSTON
On Thursday October 26th during Seedstars Kingston, Samelogic won the Jamaica 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 prizes.
Kingston, Jamaica - Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes brought its Jamaica round to a successful close during Seedstars Kingston with the support of Development Bank of Jamaica, Continental, and in association with Kingston Beta. The event took place this Thursday in JamPro HQ, and 10 selected startups were invited to present their ideas in front of the local jury panel.
The local winner, Samelogic, a solution that reads emotions from people´s faces and voices, then correlates them to understand their true intentions, was selected the best startup in Jamaica for its innovative solution. “The conditions for being an entrepreneur in Jamaica are getting better and better so in the next 3-5 years you will see a really successful company coming out of Jamaica. We are excited about the opportunity, we will try to learn as much as possible in Mexico and in Switzerland. It will be a lot of work because we have a mission to complete and that is to make the emotion king.” explains Dwayne Samuels of Samelogic. As a part of the prize, Samelogic will be participating at Seedstars Summit, takng place in Switzerland in April 2018, a weeklong training program with the opportunity to meet the other 70 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 audience of 1000 attendees, with the possibility of winning up to the USD 1 million equity investment and prizes.
Get There with its application to request transport and courier services on demand, came second and Altura Tech Caribbean - Commercial Grade Dash Cam with 24/7 live video feed and Data Collection to make truck transportation more safe and efficient. grabbed the last spot in the top 3. The other startups invited to pitch were: Staff Genius, The Vinelist, LivewireACT, Billodex, Braata Box & Co. & eDocine.
The 9 startups pitched in front of a prestigious jury, including Gordon Swaby - CEO of EduFocal, Lisandra Rickards - CEO of Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, Stacey Hines - Group Strategic Planner at ICD Group Holdings, Zachary Harding - CEO of Hyperion Equity Inc, and Maria Noel de la Paz, Regional Associate at Seedstars World.
Seedstars Kingston also featured a panel discussion organized by Kingston BETA with the title: “The Status of Jamaica's Tech Startup Scene. Beyond the Hype. Set for Growth”. The speakers in the panel were: Audrey Richards - Project Coordinator, Jamaica Venture Capital Programme at Development Bank of Jamaica, Dr Stacey Ann Wilson - Chair of Advisory Board of Mona Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Centre at UWI Mona, Marc Gayle and Entrepreneur and Startup Advisor moderated by Ingrid Riley - Founder of Silicon Caribe Media.
Further support is provided by The Hub, ItelBpo, NCB Jamaica, ReelVibez Studios, Blue Mahoe Ventures, Select Brands and Pure Country Juices. The event attracted interest from over 40 local startups, and over 110 attendees.
Continuing on its world tour of startup scenes in emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, Seedstars World’s next stop is Santo Domingo at PYHEX to select the best startup in the Dominican Republic. Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and/or develop profitable products for the global market.
