Fifteen Start-Ups from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda and Tanzania have been announced as Eastern Regional winners of the Global Start-Up Awards [GSA] Africa 2022/23. GSA is the largest independent start-up ecosystem competition on the continent.
The announcement took place at the launch edition of GITEX Africa 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco, late last week. GITEX Africa 2023 brings together global leaders in the public, private and civil sectors to spur the adoption of next-gen technology in Africa.
Launched in 2021, GSA Africa is a platform dedicated to showcasing and scaling Africa’s most promising Start-Ups. This year’s competition focused on solutions in agriculture, climate change, commerce, education, healthcare, and mobility & logistics, with particular interest in start-ups championing Web3.0 technologies, sustainable business models, green innovation, and diversity in the workplace.
These start-Ups secured the following awards during this year Eastern Africa competition.
Kenya
- Founder of the Year – Gjenge Makers Ltd
- Start-Up of the Year – Farmer Lifeline
- Diversity Role Model of the Year – Thynk Care Foundation
- Best Health Tech Start-Up – Zuri Health
- Best Mobility & Logistics Tech Start-Up – BasiGo
- Best Web3.0 Start-Up – Crypsese Digital Group
- Ecosystem Hero of the Year – Saniwise Technologies
Uganda
- Best Co-Working Space – Tech Buzz Hub
- Best Incubator/Accelerator Programme – Transformational Business Network Africa
- Best Commerce-Tech Start-Up – Zofi Cash
Ethiopia
- Best Newcomer – Husky Energy & Technologies
- Best Green-Tech Start-Up – Coffee Resurrect
Mauritius
- Venture Capitalist of the Year – Mo Angels
Rwanda
- Best Agri-Tech Start-Up – NjordFrey
Tanzania
- Best Ed-Tech Start-Up – Niajiri Platform
These regional winners will advance to the Continental Finals of the GSA Africa competition. They will compete against their counterparts from Northern, Southern, Western, and Central Africa.
Start-Ups crowned an African winner will then join the GSA Grand Finale to showcase their solutions alongside some of the world’s top entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and ecosystem enablers.
In March 2023, two African Start-Ups were named Global Winners at last season’s Grand Finale hosted in Copenhagen. Competing against more than 120 companies from 115 countries, Ethiopian green-tech Start-Up, Kubik, was recognised as ‘Start-Up of the Year’, while the Ugandan fintech, Emata, was proclaimed ‘Best Newcomer’.
African winners will also have the exclusive opportunity to engage with the Global Innovation Initiative Group [GIIG], the competition’s dedicated investment partner. Through its GIIG Africa Fund and the GIIG Africa Foundation, the organisation aims to find, fund and grow African solutions to globally relevant challenges.
“As one of the regional winners at the Global Start-Up Awards Africa is an incredible achievement for Zofi Cash, our clients and businesses we are working with”, said Zofi Cash founder and CEO, Paul Kirungi.
“Being nominated has proved our dedication and hard work we put in the fintech industry to create a better financial future for everyone.”
Zofi Cash led in the region’s Commerce category. It is a digital financial platform focused on offering instant salary advances.
