3 Accra Winners To Advance In Challenge Cup Global Competition
November 17th 2015
Accra Startups Chosen to Advance in Challenge Cup Global Competition
Challenge Cup Spans Over 50 Cities Around the World to Identify Entrepreneurs Tackling World’s Biggest Challenges, Featuring $1M in Funding Opportunities
Washington, D.C. and Accra — Global startup incubator and seed fund 1776 and iSpace crowned the three Accra Challenge Cup winners, representing the most compelling local startups tackling difficult and intractable social challenges. The three winners will move on to the regional competition in Nairobi, where they will compete against other leading startups from across the region for the chance to advance to the global finals competition at the 1776 Challenge Festival in Washington, D.C. in June.
“Accra is home to so many inspiring entrepreneurs who are building high-growth startups to tackle big world challenges ,” said Donna Harris, co-founder of 1776. “We’re proud to help give these extraordinary companies an opportunity to present their vision on the global stage and connect to the resources and relationships they need to be successful.”
After a keen contest that saw 17 teams competing for top honours, the winners are as follows:
- ZAACOAL: Zaacoal makes, slower burning, smokeless charcoal from organic waste.
- ZEEPAY: Zeepay offers services such as retail payments, international remittances, third party payments and domestic transfers via mobile money.
- SOLSHARE: SolShare is a provider of reliable, sustainable and affordable solar electricity access to low-income people. The approach is to build a grid from the bottom up.
“What was key in choosing the top 3 startups was picking teams that were solving pertinent issues in society and could compete on a global level. Though the selection was tough, I’m very confident that the Accra champions will be very successful and go all the way”, said Akua Baning, iSpace Community Manager.
The event highlights Accra’s vibrant startup community and the contributions its innovators are making in tackling some of the world’s most difficult and intractable social challenges.
The winners will advance to the regional competition in Nairobi. From there, five of the most promising startups will be chosen to join 40 regional winners from across the eight other regional competitions and 45 wildcard winners at Challenge Festival 2016 to compete for $1 million in cash prizes and funding, and connect with mentors, corporate partners, policymakers, and potential investors.
For more information about the Challenge Cup, click here.
ABOUT iSpace
iSpace is an innovation hub that provides a unique environment that supports start. We nurture a local network of like-minded and focused entrepreneurs and tech startups, providing space for them to work, meet, collaborate, learn and have fun. We believe that by getting the right people together in a physical space, good things happen
ABOUT 1776
1776 is a global incubator and seed fund that finds promising startups focused on solving the world’s most fundamental challenges and helps engineer their success.
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