Three Cape Town startups earned funding worth more than ZAR1 million (US$96,000) at the Sparkup! pitching event ahead of tomorrow’s Net Prophet conference.
Twelve startups engaged in 32-hours of intensive coaching and mentorship over the weekend, before being narrowed down to seven on Sunday by a group of judges.
Digital network 8Bit, real estate platform Ekaya, online pet product retailer HappyByNature, payments platform Peach Payments, online store builder Shopstar, online marketplace Weaverlution and premier coupon firm Wowzit pitched to a panel of judges last night that included 4Di Capital founder Justin Stanford, Mentorcamp founder Permjot Valia and Erik Osiakwan.
8Bit, Ekaya and Shopstar walked away with investment totalling almost US$100,000.
“Last night proved to me that the appetite for angel investment in Silicon Cape startups is at all time high especially under circumstances where the startups have be “pre-vetted” in a way. The angels we attracted are all tremendously valuable allies to have and their value goes deeper than just the cash on table,” said Ekaya chief executive officer (CEO) Justin R Melville.
“Sparkup! was a small victory for South Africa’s startup ecosystem.”
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
