Judging begins today to decide the finalists of mobile startup competition PIVOT East, as 25 judges look to narrow down 50 semi-finalists to 25 who will compete at the event in June.
HumanIPO reported last week Kenyan startups dominated the semi-finalist list, with 37 chosen alongside 13 from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
The fourth edition of the event will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on June 24 and 25.
Organisers m:lab said its partnerships with hubs from across East Africa – namely Outbox (Uganda), Hive Colab (Uganda), KINU (Tanzania), BUNI Hub (Tanzania), kLab (Rwanda), iceaddis (Ethiopia), iBiz Africa (Kenya) and C4DLab (Kenya) – had allowed it to persuade the region’s best startups to take part in the competition.
The 25 judges, who are all active investors, include the Mara Foundation’s Nina Werner, Facebook engineering director Matthew Papakipos, Eric Osiakwan, 88mph Nairobi programme manager Nikolai Barnwell, Ushahidi co-founder Erik Hersman, Savannah Fund managing partner Mbwana Alliy, and Isis Nyong’o Madison, branded one of ‘Africa’s Top 20 Youngest Power Women’ by Forbes.
