PIVOT East, one of the most prestigious startup competitions and conferences is now open for entries through its PIVOT East Startups Community Network. The competition accepts applications until midnight EAT on April 13th 2019.
PIVOT East is organised by iHub. The competition aims to catalyse the growth of East Africa startups, so as to amplify and consolidate the gains of East Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The key objective for this year’s event is to ensure that we provide maximum opportunities for all stakeholders to engage before, during and after the competition. It is only through this open engagement that we can surface learnings, which will go into ensuring a more robust ecosystem.
Applications to compete in 2019 will be entered as detailed startup profiles which describe the customer pain, the solution, revenue streams, team composition and commitment, market traction, projections and milestones among other aspects. The overall startup profile will be used by the competition judges who will be experienced entrepreneurs, investors, startup enablers and business coaches to score the potential of the startup to become a sustainable high growth enterprise.
The competition has five categories in both software and hardware which are;
- Finance – including digital or mobile payments, banking, insurance, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce etc.
- Enterprise – including ERP Systems, CRMs, Recruiting platforms, value chain management, marketing, production, etc.
- Entertainment – including gaming, social networking, e-magazines, music, video, photography etc.
- Social Impact – including education, agriculture, health, governance, and other social development themes.
- Utilities – A catch-all category including applications for enhancing the usability and versatility of technology etc
Start-ups across the region that meet the requirement can start applying for the competition. Information on how to join, including eligibility criteria, is HERE. The finalists will receive training and coaching on how to pitch to potential partners, customers and investors, sales, digital marketing, legal and employee retention.
The deadline for submission of applications is on 13th April 2019. Applicants are encouraged to start building and curating their startup profiles early as they might need to research or source some of the information required widely.