Seedstars, an entrepreneurial company based in Switzerland launched the annual Seedstars World competition in 2013. In 2020, the annual Seedstars competition, which is taking place virtually for this cycle, received over 5000 startup applications worldwide. 94 startups, from the emerging markets made it through the local stages of the competition after participating in the Seedstars Investment Readiness Program. However in the regional stages, the number of startups reduced to 20 startups which took part in regionals final earlier this Month. Only five of the startups qualified to contest at the global final. Ladda is a mobile finance app that enables users gain access to micro-investment opportunities. Nigeria’s Ladda offers users a platform for investing in savings, mutual funds and stocks all in one platform. The Ladda app is available to download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Tunisia’s Fulfilment Bridge, is a cloud based global e-commerce logistics platform that offers services such as multi-warehousing, shipping, inventory management and fulfillment. The other three finalists are Venezuelan e-health platform Pegasi, Malaysian fintech startup Finology and Uzbekistani point of sale solution IMAN. During the final round of the competition, the startups will be required to pitch their businesses to a judging panel .Experts on tech and education will be included in the event after which the winner will be announced. On top of the grand prize that will be won, Seedstars will also award prizes in several categories which include Childhood Development, Climate Change and Women Empowerment The global Seedstars Grand Finale will take place online on 20 May. Africa’s Giraffe and AgroCenta are the previous winners of the Seedstars competition.
