South African innovators and collaborators are reinforcing their role in the African technology ecosystem following their significant representation among the winners and partners at the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa Summit recently held in Addis Ababa. The GSA Africa in collaboration with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MOLS), the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) with the support of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) Ethiopia, revealed the names of 16 overall African category winners.
At the summit’s grand finale and awards showcase, Momint, was named the Best Web 3.0 Startup. Momint CEO, Ahren Posthumus accepted the award on behalf of his team back home in South Africa. “This is a recognition of our passion and tireless dedication of the team. This is just the start of our journey. We have a vision to create a decentralised and sustainable energy network across the entire continent. Web 3.0 is simply a tool that will enable us to achieve this goal and leapfrog the rest of the world. We are forever grateful for the support of everyone who shares this vision and the trust of our community of solar certificate owners, who are an integral part of building and owning this critical energy infrastructure alongside us.” Momint facilitates the funding and trading of solar investments through an integrated digital wallet. The company specialises in digitising tangible assets and legal contracts on the blockchain, allowing individuals to support renewable energy adoption and earn a projected income.
They competed against 2,057 entrants from Southern Africa and was among more than 8,200 GSA Africa awards entrants overall.
The GSA Africa, headquartered in Cape Town, is dedicated to showcasing transformative African innovation that aligns with Sustainable Development Goals, both locally and internationally. The progress of the winners is documented as demonstrable innovation, underscoring the critical need and opportunity for ‘real-world, tangible implementation’ and the creation of new markets.
All 16 African winners will have the exclusive opportunity to engage with the GIIG Africa Fund, 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. The winners will also advance to the official Global Startup Awards in Copenhagen next year.
Jo Griffiths, co-founder of the GSA Africa and GIIG, highlighted, “The GSA Africa is dedicated to increasing the recognition of African innovation, serving as a bridge that connects different cultures and stages of startup development across the continent. It encourages mutual understanding and collaboration, offering a stage for collective goals of greater impact. The presence of seven South African startups in Addis Ababa highlights the rife potential of our national startup environment. We are extremely proud to have had a strong South African presence at the event, representing various sectors such as health, energy and biotech.”
Caitlin Nash, co-founder of GSA Africa and GIIG added, “The GSA Africa Summit is an enabler of collaborative transformation – of Africa’s emerging startup nations, founders, and communities leveraging and amplifying Africa’s growing influence in the global community. It is our mission to find and support these operators and innovators of Africa – these are the young leaders with the ideas, energy, local knowledge, commitment and experience that will build this continent. We have an always-on call out for organisations that share this vision to partner with us on our GIIG Fund and Foundation work that delivers this support especially ahead of the new programme starting in January 2024.”
Throughout this year and after two meticulous selection rounds, the GSA Africa jury selected 71 regional winners from five African regions and 54 countries. Of these, seven startups were invited to the summit in Ethiopia and accommodated by GIIG, including Momint, Newform Foods, Basket eCommerce, BAOM Eco Solutions, Noosi, LIQID Medical, and Floatpays.
On his attendance at the summit, Lunga Momoza, founder of Basket eCommerce, a South African regional finalist in the Mobility & Logistics category, notes, “We recently just came out of university and you can imagine as an early-stage startup, […] it means a lot because we know now we’re able to tell our story on the global stage.”
Brett Thomposon, CEO of Newform Foods, a South African regional finalist in the Greentech sector, “We work in biotech which is a new field in many ways in parts of the continent. […] Sometimes it does feel a bit lonely, so the Global Startup Awards [Africa] is a platform that allows people to connect, to really get to know each other, to share learnings, and to share struggles.”
In addition to celebrating the South African winner and regional finalists, the summit welcomed its partnership with Wesgro Health which forms part of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official agency for promoting tourism, trade, and investment. Wesgro Health plays a significant role in attracting and facilitating both national and international investment into a region that contributes an estimated R1.7 billion to the health technology sector alone. This collaboration underlines their mission to nurture entrepreneurial growth in the region and to extend its influence across the African continent.
“The tech sector in Cape Town and the Western Cape has shown tremendous growth, with Cape Town in particular having been identified in several studies as a leading region on the African continent for the establishment of technology start-ups and a driver of innovation. Wesgro is proud to partner with GSA Africa in their mission to shape Africa’s future through innovation and spotlighting ground-breaking solutions emerging from the continent,” says Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander.
“I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Momint for being named the Best Web 3.0 Startup. Wesgro is dedicated to supporting trade and investment in health technology in accordance with our mandate to support economic growth and job creation in the local economy”, added Stander.
Her Excellency Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Labour and Skills, shared, “Ethiopia has big ambitions. We believe it is our turn to shape tomorrow’s world. It is Africa’s turn to herald a new world, a more equitable, more humanity-centred, and more just world. It will be all of us standing tall, and Africa standing tall, Africa assuming its rightful place in the world, Africa ceasing to be a synonym for poverty, social malaise, and hopelessness, and Africa becoming the new frontier for innovation and economic vitality.” H.E. Kamil encouraged all startups, “As you go home, go home with Africa’s future on your shoulders, with Africa’s dream for salvation in your hearts.”
His Excellency Dr Belete Molla Getahun, Minister of Innovation and Technology, said, “If African countries are to truly reap the benefits of the demographic dividends from their sizeable young population, it is extremely necessary to support entrepreneurship and startups with a sense of urgency and purpose. Here, we must leverage this platform to learn from other countries’ experiences and to share yours as well as your country’s vision of going global by fostering a local innovation ecosystem. This is the building of a community of disrupters ready to make its mark on the global startup ecosystem. The world will soon feel your impact, from Lagos to Lilongwe, Cape Town to Cairo. You are the fearless makers and shakers. With you at the helm, steering us forward, there will be light ahead.”
Additional key partners to the GSA Africa summit included UNICEF Ethiopia, UNDP Ethiopia, Grant Thornton Ethiopia, The Mayor’s Office Addis Ababa, The Development Bank Ethiopia, First Consult, and Loudhailer Global.
