{"id":341404,"date":"2017-05-19T12:29:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T04:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1493236"},"modified":"2017-05-19T12:29:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T04:29:47","slug":"techcrunch-to-host-a-startup-competition-with-facebook-in-nairobi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/techcrunch-to-host-a-startup-competition-with-facebook-in-nairobi\/","title":{"rendered":"TechCrunch to Host a Startup Competition with Facebook in Nairobi"},"content":{"rendered":"

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TechCrunch is hosting its first startup competition in Sub-Saharan Africa. We\u2019ve wanted to bring TechCrunch to Africa for a long time, and now thanks to our sponsor Facebook, we will bring the Startup Battlefield<\/u><\/a> competition, to Nairobi on October 11 this year.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re looking for Sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs to participate in TechCrunch Battlefield Africa 2017<\/a>. Startups can apply to three categories: social good, productivity and utility, gaming and entertainment. TechCrunch will host the event in Nairobi in front of a live audience and top judges, and we will live stream the show on TechCrunch and Facebook so the rest of the world can tune in. The judges will choose a winner in each category and select an overall winner, \u201cSub-Saharan Africa\u2019s Most Promising Startup,\u201d whose founders will win $25,000 USD in no-equity cash plus an all-expense paid trip for two to San Francisco to compete in the Battlefield at TechCrunch\u2019s flagship event, Disrupt SF 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The timing for Battlefield Africa 2017 could not be better. Sub-Saharan Africa just produced its first unicorn, Jumia, exits are increasingly frequent, and global venture capitalists are taking note.<\/p>\n

Sub-Saharan African startups are helping unleash the region\u2019s\u00a0potential, from last-mile technologies that deliver edtech, agritech, and medtech to remote areas, to mobile-based fintech innovations that ease financial transactions and lending in bustling cities. Sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s diversity in language, culture, politics, technology and living standards demands huge creativity from entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

Sub-Saharan African startups, for example, have proven themselves particularly skilled at innovating with low-cost mobile applications, rather than capital-intensive, high-broadband web applications. That makes sense in a region where access to a mobile phone is often more likely than access to clean water or electricity. Innovations that can scale to fingertips globally are fueling human possibility and expansion to global markets.<\/p>\n

TechCrunch is eager to take part in covering Africa\u2019s burgeoning tech sector more fully.\u00a0We love to see\u00a0startup ecosystems develop, and Battlefield is one of the best platforms in the world to spotlight the most promising ventures\u00a0for investors, partners and even future employees. Our editors carefully pick the best startups to compete from hundreds of applications, and recruits world class judges to ask tough questions and pick the winners. And the Battlefield staff coaches\u00a0the founders to make brilliant pitches on stage at the Battlefield event<\/p>\n

We stream the whole event to viewers around the world thanks to TechCrunch\u2019s enormous global reach. (And you can bet our partner Facebook will help out there too.) At the end of the day, that\u2019s why the 648 companies that have competed in Battlefield have raised $6.9 billion and produced 95 exits to date.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to participate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Startups must fit into one of three categories (social good, productivity and utility, gaming and entertainment) to participate. Five startups in each category will be selected to join us on stage for the Battlefield Africa in Nairobi.<\/p>\n

Apart from clear relevance to one of the three themes, qualifying startups should:<\/p>\n