SEEDSTARS WORLD IS RETURNING TO ABIDJAN TO FIND THE BEST STARTUPS IN COTE D’IVOIRE

Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes is coming to Côte d’Ivoire for the third time.

With the support of our main sponsor TRECC, our local ambassador Ifid and our regional partners Enel, Orange, Microsoft, Seedstars World will be holding a dynamic pitch event on September 8th at the African Development Bank. In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 75 countries this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to USD 1,000,000 while networking with investors and mentors from around the world. Its previous participants have raised over USD 61M collectively, providing employment to more than 800 employees worldwide.

“TRECC is excited to continue its partnership with Seedstars to foster support for a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem in Côte d’Ivoire. This growing local community is key to catalyzing innovation in the education system, which is one of the main goals of TRECC’s impact finance program,” explains Elizabeth West, Impact Finance Officer at TRECC.

The companies selected to pitch at Seedstars Abidjan need to be less than 2 years old, have raised less than USD 500 000 in funding and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction. The Seedstars World team is searching for one additional criterion - the startup’s regional and global scalability. With a strong network of international partners such as Enel, BBVA, Merck, TRECC and Standard Bank, Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and develop profitable products for the global market to support their regional businesses and growth.

In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and deliver the best possible event, Seedstars World is closely working with  Ifid, who is representing the initiative throughout the year. “We have a lot of talented people in Côte d’Ivoire. However, talent alone is not always enough. We need opportunities and opportunities come with the people we meet.  As we say in Côte d’Ivoire, « c’est l’homme qui fait l’homme » and that is why I’m supporting this event.” explains Rites Massamba from Ifid.

“Seedstars World is a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs, pulling the spotlight from Silicon Valley and Western Europe. As this will be our third time to organize our event in Abidjan, our excitement level and expectations are high. We have heard so much about the bustling startup ecosystem in Côte d’Ivoire and we are now here to witness the reality” explains Anis Kallel, Associate at Seedstars World, “We are impressed by what we have seen in the continent so far and cannot wait to add startups from Côte d’Ivoire on our map.”

Up to 10 of the best seed stage startups in Côte d’Ivoire will be invited to pitch for the opportunity to compete at the Seedstars Summit, that annually takes place in Switzerland. 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 USD 50 000.

Applications are open now, and startups can apply here: https://seedsta.rs/abidjan2017 by August 30th.  
Further support is provided by The Andrew YoungCenter for Entrepreneurship.