BiD Network hosted this year’s Regional Final of Africa of Get in the Ring: the Investment Battle. Entrepreneurs, investors and experts from all over Africa and beyond came together on September 18, 2014 in Kigali, Rwanda, to be part of the event. Ten promising African entrepreneurs were selected by BiD Network to compete against each other for one spot in the International Final of Get in the Ring, to be held during Global Entrepreneurship Week this November. For the finalists, the day was full of training sessions, meetings with investors, workshops and networking opportunities, followed by the pitching battle in the evening.
The ten finalists gave their all in the competition in their attempt to convince a jury of six investors of their business plans. In five exciting one-on-one battling rounds the entrepreneurs had to tackle five different topics regarding their businesses, followed by a Q&A session with the jury. In between and after the rounds, the finalists and audience enjoyed a soulful performance by Nigerian music star Bezand several interviews with inspiring entrepreneurs.
Finally, the jury had made their decision and announced that the winner of this year's African Final isJustin Coetzee from South Africa. With his business GoMetro he has built a mobile application that provides information, updates and announcements regarding public transport for cities in South Africa.
Coetzee has now earned a place in the Global Final of Get in the Ring. Moreover, this competition demonstrated the great potential of African startups and the interest of investors from Africa and beyond in supporting these startups to grow.