A new competition for tech startups focused on software projects has been launched in Cape Town. Startup Knight is a competition for software based tech startups that want to start a viable business.
Byte Orbit, the company behind Startup Knight,will be hosting the competition and event.
Amit Ramdath, CEO of Byte Orbit announced, “We would like to extend a challenge to other established technology based companies to identify and incubate innovative entrepreneurs in South Africa”.
Participants can enter online at www.byteorbit.com from 1 October and entries close on 25 October. Fifteen finalists will be announced by 26 October and they will be required to pitch to a judging panel at Byte Orbit Offices in Durbanville, Cape Town on 3 November.
There will be prizes and sponsorships for the winning startup from established organisations, namely Microsoft, Nokia, Bandwidth Barn and 8ta.
Microsoft will be providing software packages for the winning startup to run their business for 3 years as well as US$60,000 worth of Azure Services. Bandwidth Barn will be providing office space for the duration of 6 months and Nokia will be a product sponsor. In addition South African mobile service provider, 8ta, will be providing a 3G data modem loaded with their 60Gig+60Gig offering.
The winning startup will get to be sponsored by Byte Orbit. This will consist of software development to the value of approximately US$11,000 and ongoing mentorship. As part of this, Byte Orbit will take a small equity stake in the winning business and subsequently support them on an ongoing basis.
This is a first for South Africa as Byte Orbit become the first software development company in the country to offer an opportunity in the form of an event to young and innovative tech entrepreneurs.
The results of the winner will be announced on the evening of 3 November at a venue in Cape Town. The main requirement is that the entry must be focused on a software product.
Judging Panel:
Byte Orbit: Amit Ramdath | CEO
Nokia: Anthony Stonefield | Head of Ecosystem
Microsoft: Kethan Parbhoo | Equity Equivalent Lead
8ta: Amith Maharaj | Senior Managing Executive
BandwidthBlog / OnNet: Charl Norman | Managing Director
Ching Payments: Martin Ras | Managing Director
