Johannesburg, South Africa – Vitruvian Medical Diagnostics, a startup that aims to make diagnostic pathology more accessible using technology, captured first prize at the national finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup competition held on the 30th of September 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The two runner up winners were Tumeza, are startups that provides working capital financing for those who power the movement of goods across Africa and Dove Air, a startup that gives instant access to urgent medical supplies to those across the world and help local communities with vital services.
Vitruvian Medical Diagnostics, Thumeza and Dove Air emerged victorious from a pool of over 5000 contestants who applied – each receiving access to free virtual training services and up to $25,000 in perks to help them take their venture to the next level. Once they form part of the Global Finalist, they will compete for a share of USD 1 million in cash prizes.
The EWC South Africa was hosted by 22 On Sloane, the largest startup campus in Africa, which is based in Bryanston, South Africa. 22 On Sloane’s aim is to nurture the entrepreneurial mindset, ensure their sustainability, and explore development of new industries and contribute towards job creation in Africa. They offer startups and innovative SMEs a complete turnkey solution to scale, from initial idea to commercialisation, funding opportunities and access to markets.
In preparation for the EWC Global Finals, Ifthakaar Shaik, Gugulethu Sisu and Francisco Serra will participate in a Bootcamp which features virtual training and mentoring sessions targeted to their company’s current stage and growth trajectory. Furthermore, the three winners will compete for a share of USD 1 million in cash prizes. The top 100 Global Finalists will receive $100,000 worth of in-kind services and support from service providers such as AWS, Freshworks, Oracle, Hubspot, Stripe and Segment.
Global finalists also gain automatic entry into the GEN Starters Club, an invitation-only community of talented founders from around the world.
Other finalists in the EWC South Africa National Finals included:
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Formidable Technology, a digital healthcare and we make health wearable devices that help people monitor and track their health
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Nano stream Blu, an edtech startup that provides innovative and predictive management system that allows staff and students to make data-driven decisions to optimize their educational experiences and improve pass-rates within higher educational institutions. It also has the potential to ameliorate the fee and funding issues affecting Higher Education.
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Kinetic Therapy, a healthtech platform that digitizes patient health records, assessments and Treatment Plans,and Billings to enable an efficient, streamlined running of health businesses.
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Takatso Partners, Takatoss system uses exclusively renewable energy sources to provide safe drinking water, through seawater desalination and/or brackish water purification. The solution is an all-in-one, fully autonomous and self-sustainable unit using solar energy and wind power to supply drinkable water.
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Hunadi Cycle Projects Pty Ltd, a startup that manufactures bicycles from waste plastic targeting non customers and rent them out in and around town
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BallTalent Inc, BallTalent is a web-based platform that connects talented youths to professional clubs and scout by showcasing their talent to the world.
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Basket Ecommerce, an Ecommerce startup that digitizes the supply chain between fresh produce suppliers and street vendors.
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Dove Air, a startup that provides safe, reliable and instant drone aid logistics.
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Thumeza, Thumeza uses alternative data sets to provide credit to ease the illiquidity gap for transporters who need to service contracts but face lengthy payment timelines from their clients.
Judges for the competition were:
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Pratika Chung, Jozi Angels Member
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Lundi Njomane, Principle at WZ Capital
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Dr Patrick Ebewo Head of Department at TUT’s Center of Entrepreneurship Develop
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Ziaad Sulemaan, the Chief Commercial Officer at EOH
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Hangwi Liphadzi, Consultant at the World Bank Group
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Grace Legodi, Consultant at the World Bank Group
Since launching in 2019, the competition has attracted 400,000 registrations from 200 countries and connected founders with over US$3M in cash prizes and another US$256M worth of perks and free support and services.
Global Finalists will face off against one another in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2023.
EWC is an initiative led by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Monsha’at, with support from a collection of national and global partners including One Valley, The Global Education and Leadership Foundation (tGELF), Entrepreneurs’ Organization, KAUST and Startup Genome.