University-based and corporate-backed startup ecosystem selects 10 startups to join 12-week venture support programme

The first phase of the programme is an online five-week Venture Launch course – which aims to generate knowledge and capacity to build scalable businesses. This fully accredited short course at the University of Cape Town (UCT) is used as a pre-selection process that includes the submission of pitches by shortlisted businesses, culminating in the second phase of the programme – the Venture Exploitation Programme.

SMEs

UCT GSB's e-Track programme takes 9 local startups to the next level

UCT Graduate School of Business  8 Sep 2020

After completing the phase one course, the ventures went through a rigorous pitching and selection process in order to progress to the next stage. The top 10 ventures selected offer solutions in various sectors and industries, including AgriTech, SaaS and HealthTech.

“We are excited to be part of the E-Track programme and look forward to supporting the cohort in scaling their solutions as well as providing business and technical assistance. We feel the ayoba platform with its microapp capability is a great way for startups to get traction in the market and to connect to millions of ayoba users across the continent in a quick and cost effective way. We are continuously looking for promising ventures that would benefit from being part of the platform and could bring engaging content (video, music, games, infotainment) and business solutions to our user base,” says Eero Tarjanne, head of business & ecosystem development, ayoba.

These are the startups that were selected:

1. VeriDev – a platform making access to quality technical talent easy and affordable for non-technical founders.
   
2. Spekboom – a venture setting out to redistribute global online travel booking commissions to local tourism providers and drive the long-term sustainability of African tourism.
   
3. Fortis Biohacking – an interactive app that facilitates health and performance data management.
   
4. Desert Green Africa – a startup offering end-to-end optimisation of the informal agricultural value chain.
   
5. NOOSi – a startup making quality home-based health care more accessible.
   
6. Bility Solutions – a venture enabling reliable and safe management procedures for events and logistics.
   
7. MariHealth Solutions – a startup improving aquaculture productivity through marine health monitoring and management systems.
   
8. Smart Box™ By Line of Sight Technology – an app providing real-time, smart medicine and first-aid control
   
9. Wubuntu – a startup driving intercultural empowerment between African and Chinese youth through immersion tours and online learning
   
10. Radian Technologies – software enabling business transformation through IoT solutions.
    

“We are encouraged by the resilience we have witnessed among entrepreneurs in phase one. We are looking forward to the journey with them as they prepare to launch and grow their ventures in the next phase,” says Shiela Yabo, programme manager, UCT GSB Solution Space.

For more information about the ventures and partnering with the Solution Space, please contact the programme manager, Shiela Yabo, at az.ca.tcu@obay.aleihs. For more information about ayoba, please contact Eero Tarjanne at em.aboya@toree.