The winner and runners-up were announced at a virtual Demo Day, at which Ambani won a cash prize of R250 000. Llew Classen of Newtown Partners, Keet van Zyl of Knife Capital, and Karabo Morule were among the VC heavyweights on the Demo Day judging panel. Commenting on the programme in a statement, Polo Leteka, Chairman and founder of IDF Capital said “I’m proud of these startup founders who have built globally competitive and locally relevant solutions during the most challenging times the world is in now. We are confident that their growth will encourage others to follow suit.” Lambani has won numerous awards, including being named to the M&G 200 Young South Africans in 2020 and winning the TIA Swiss-SA edition this year. The I’M IN accelerator is a 10-month program. Nine startups from a variety of fields, including agritech, data management, e-commerce, edtech, and IoT, were each given R1.5 million in seed capital to take their concept to the Demo Day pitch competition. Participants receive in-depth training through masterclasses and workshops on business skills, as well as commercialization support, advice, and mentorship on tech development and startup growth. For the cash prize, Lambani has big plans. The funds will be used to expand the startup’s web gaming platform for schools that teach African languages, as well as its free language app. Furthermore, the funds will enable them to enhance their internal competencies in order to acquire future funding and meet milestones that will allow the company to expand internationally.
