South Africa | 20/4/2016
Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 April 2015
– Following a rigorous selection process, involving more than 700
applicants from 26 countries across Africa, the top three finalists in
the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia, have been revealed.
The challenge, which aims to boost entrepreneurship and innovation,
as well as build a stronger and more sustainable business environment on
the continent, kicked off in February, and is a joint initiative
between MTN, Jumia and the MTN Solution Space based at the University of
Cape Town Graduate School of Business.
Through the entrepreneurship challenge, students were invited to develop a unique digital application or smart solution to address a problem faced in Africa. Applicants heeded the call and hundreds of original ideas covering the areas of E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Solutions, and Health Technology were received.
Over the past few weeks, the ideas were narrowed down, with 11 Live Pitch events taking place from Cameroon to South Africa, to shortlist the top candidates who will eventually pitch their business ideas at the Entrepreneurship Festival in Cape Town in May 2016.
The three finalists are:
• Pass.ng (Nigeria)
Pass.ng is a web, desktop and mobile-based CBT examination preparatory and testing platform, with a vision to help candidates excel in all the major Nigerian examinations and tests.
• MedRX (Ghana)
MedRx app is an interactive health platform for all users who have health needs. The app connects users to health personnel from various fields of practice including hospital, pharmacy, laboratory and academia.br>
• Vicoba (Tanzania)
Village Community Banks (Vicoba) are an important instrument of development work, allowing people who do not have access to conventional bank accounts, to access informal investment groups. Vicoba app creates a collaborative platform that includes existing tools for financial and task management in a way that is adapted for the African market.
MTN Solution Space Manager, Sarah-Anne Arnold, congratulated the winners and commented: “Universities are resource-rich, highly networked and create opportunities for students to find like-minded co-founders and explore and develop new opportunities together, and are therefore the ideal environments to encourage entrepreneurs. This was shown by the amazing talent that emerged during the incredible week of Live Pitches which took place across campuses in 11 countries, in collaboration with partner universities and sponsors. Congratulations and best of luck to the finalists.”
The top two applications from each region were selected for the semi-finals and awarded the opportunity to undertake a short course from GetSmarter in order to build new capabilities in areas such as Search Engine Optimisation or Digital Marketing.
The finalists will face a panel of experienced business leaders at the Entrepreneurship Festival, where the winning team will be named. The panel includes Jeremy Hodara, co-CEO Africa Internet Group, Professor Walter Baets, Director of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, and Herman Singh, MTN Group Chief Digital Officer.
“We are incredibly impressed with the calibre of applicants and the level of innovation shown. We are looking forward to the finals and wish our contenders the best of luck. We are certain that whichever team emerges victorious, it is the continent that will be the biggest winner, as entrepreneurship and locally developed solutions are what will enable the growth and development of this continent,” says Singh.
Bankole Cardoso, the Head of Communications at Africa Internet Group added, “From the application phase, we were very impressed with the high quality business models and it was not at all easy for the judges to select from so many promising businesses. Over the last week, we have held over 100 live pitches and given young entrepreneurs across the continent a platform to showcase their business ideas and even more importantly, to receive critical feedback from experienced professionals on our judging panels. The gaps in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem are in capital and mentorship so it was great to undergo an exercise like this that will no doubt force them to improve. I now look forward to working closely with these three finalist teams to prepare them for what’s to come in Cape Town. It is an incredible opportunity for all of them to propel themselves to the next level.”
The winners will be announced at the Entrepreneurship Festival with the top team being awarded the opportunity for incubation at the premises of either the MTN Solution Space at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, or at one of 9 Jumia offices across the continent. The winner will also win a cash prize of US$25 000 towards their start-up and have access to a Facebook Start Programme to the value of US$15 000, which includes tools and services needed to build mobile applications.
MTN EC by Jumia in numbers
● Collaborated with more than 60 universities in 13 countries in Africa
● Over 700 applications received, including 345 videos, from 26 countries in 3 languages -English, French and Arabic
● More than 1 000 students applied to the competition
● Top categories are E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Health Technology
● 11 Live Pitch events from Cameroon to South Africa, in partner universities or Jumia offices
● Met more than 250 young entrepreneurs during Live Pitch events all over Africa
● Top 3 countries in number of applications: Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon
About the MTN Group Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: “MTN.” As of 31 December 2015, MTN recorded 232,5 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. Visit us at, www.mtnbusiness.com and www.mtn.com
About the MTN Solution Space: Born out of a partnership between MTN and the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, the MTN Solution Space is distinctly African. Started in 2014 as an African innovation hub, we seek to inspire, nurture and equip the next generation of African innovators to not only envision, but actually build a better future. Through our core values of learning, venturing and exchanging we create an environment where students, entrepreneurs and researchers alike can develop real, innovative solutions to the challenges facing Africa and its people. Our programme includes the pioneering Master of Philosophy course specialising in Inclusive Innovation – an interdisciplinary, research based degree aimed at the practical development of innovative business models, aligned to African markets. Visit us at: http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/solutionspace
About Jumia: Jumia (www.Jumia.com) is Africa’s leading online shopping destination with a presence in 11 countries. Since launching in 2012, the company has transformed the way that African consumers shop by offering them the opportunity to buy everything from fashion items to consumer electronics to home appliances all online. Jumia is part of a larger ecosystem of companies supported by Africa Internet Group (AIG), a leading internet company in Africa with a network of companies including Carmudi, Easy Taxi, Everjobs, hellofood, Jovago, Jumia, Kaymu, Lamudi, Vendito and Zando across 23 African countries.
Through the entrepreneurship challenge, students were invited to develop a unique digital application or smart solution to address a problem faced in Africa. Applicants heeded the call and hundreds of original ideas covering the areas of E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Solutions, and Health Technology were received.
Over the past few weeks, the ideas were narrowed down, with 11 Live Pitch events taking place from Cameroon to South Africa, to shortlist the top candidates who will eventually pitch their business ideas at the Entrepreneurship Festival in Cape Town in May 2016.
The three finalists are:
• Pass.ng (Nigeria)
Pass.ng is a web, desktop and mobile-based CBT examination preparatory and testing platform, with a vision to help candidates excel in all the major Nigerian examinations and tests.
• MedRX (Ghana)
MedRx app is an interactive health platform for all users who have health needs. The app connects users to health personnel from various fields of practice including hospital, pharmacy, laboratory and academia.br>
• Vicoba (Tanzania)
Village Community Banks (Vicoba) are an important instrument of development work, allowing people who do not have access to conventional bank accounts, to access informal investment groups. Vicoba app creates a collaborative platform that includes existing tools for financial and task management in a way that is adapted for the African market.
MTN Solution Space Manager, Sarah-Anne Arnold, congratulated the winners and commented: “Universities are resource-rich, highly networked and create opportunities for students to find like-minded co-founders and explore and develop new opportunities together, and are therefore the ideal environments to encourage entrepreneurs. This was shown by the amazing talent that emerged during the incredible week of Live Pitches which took place across campuses in 11 countries, in collaboration with partner universities and sponsors. Congratulations and best of luck to the finalists.”
The top two applications from each region were selected for the semi-finals and awarded the opportunity to undertake a short course from GetSmarter in order to build new capabilities in areas such as Search Engine Optimisation or Digital Marketing.
The finalists will face a panel of experienced business leaders at the Entrepreneurship Festival, where the winning team will be named. The panel includes Jeremy Hodara, co-CEO Africa Internet Group, Professor Walter Baets, Director of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, and Herman Singh, MTN Group Chief Digital Officer.
“We are incredibly impressed with the calibre of applicants and the level of innovation shown. We are looking forward to the finals and wish our contenders the best of luck. We are certain that whichever team emerges victorious, it is the continent that will be the biggest winner, as entrepreneurship and locally developed solutions are what will enable the growth and development of this continent,” says Singh.
Bankole Cardoso, the Head of Communications at Africa Internet Group added, “From the application phase, we were very impressed with the high quality business models and it was not at all easy for the judges to select from so many promising businesses. Over the last week, we have held over 100 live pitches and given young entrepreneurs across the continent a platform to showcase their business ideas and even more importantly, to receive critical feedback from experienced professionals on our judging panels. The gaps in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem are in capital and mentorship so it was great to undergo an exercise like this that will no doubt force them to improve. I now look forward to working closely with these three finalist teams to prepare them for what’s to come in Cape Town. It is an incredible opportunity for all of them to propel themselves to the next level.”
The winners will be announced at the Entrepreneurship Festival with the top team being awarded the opportunity for incubation at the premises of either the MTN Solution Space at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, or at one of 9 Jumia offices across the continent. The winner will also win a cash prize of US$25 000 towards their start-up and have access to a Facebook Start Programme to the value of US$15 000, which includes tools and services needed to build mobile applications.
MTN EC by Jumia in numbers
● Collaborated with more than 60 universities in 13 countries in Africa
● Over 700 applications received, including 345 videos, from 26 countries in 3 languages -English, French and Arabic
● More than 1 000 students applied to the competition
● Top categories are E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Health Technology
● 11 Live Pitch events from Cameroon to South Africa, in partner universities or Jumia offices
● Met more than 250 young entrepreneurs during Live Pitch events all over Africa
● Top 3 countries in number of applications: Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon
About the MTN Group Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: “MTN.” As of 31 December 2015, MTN recorded 232,5 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. Visit us at, www.mtnbusiness.com and www.mtn.com
About the MTN Solution Space: Born out of a partnership between MTN and the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, the MTN Solution Space is distinctly African. Started in 2014 as an African innovation hub, we seek to inspire, nurture and equip the next generation of African innovators to not only envision, but actually build a better future. Through our core values of learning, venturing and exchanging we create an environment where students, entrepreneurs and researchers alike can develop real, innovative solutions to the challenges facing Africa and its people. Our programme includes the pioneering Master of Philosophy course specialising in Inclusive Innovation – an interdisciplinary, research based degree aimed at the practical development of innovative business models, aligned to African markets. Visit us at: http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/solutionspace
About Jumia: Jumia (www.Jumia.com) is Africa’s leading online shopping destination with a presence in 11 countries. Since launching in 2012, the company has transformed the way that African consumers shop by offering them the opportunity to buy everything from fashion items to consumer electronics to home appliances all online. Jumia is part of a larger ecosystem of companies supported by Africa Internet Group (AIG), a leading internet company in Africa with a network of companies including Carmudi, Easy Taxi, Everjobs, hellofood, Jovago, Jumia, Kaymu, Lamudi, Vendito and Zando across 23 African countries.
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