PIVOT East is Africa’s biggest startups competition and conference
held annually since 2011. The competition comprises of a series of
activities that will culminate in the finalists conference which will be
held on 15th November 2016. The conference is organized by m:lab East Africa an initiative of the iHub.
PIVOT East aims to catalyse the growth of startups, so as to amplify
and consolidate the gains of East Africa’s digital entrepreneurship
ecosystem. The key objective for this year’s event is “to facilitate
discovery of the next wave of high potential startups in the region”.
Tech startups from across the region that meet the requirement can start applying for the competition
Applications to compete will be entered as detailed startup
profiles which describe the customer pain, the startups solution,
revenue streams, team composition and commitment, market traction,
short-term projections and milestones among other aspects. The overall
startup profile will be used by the competition judges who will mostly
be investors to score the potential of the startup to become a
sustainable high growth enterprise.
The competition has five categories which
are; Finance, Enterprise, Entertainment, Utilities and Society and
Governance. Each category will feature five finalists who will pitch to
an audience of Investors, Development Partners, Government
Representatives, Telecom Operators and other key stakeholders from East
Africa. The 25 finalists will receive training and coaching on how to
pitch to investors.
Competition Categories for PIVOT East
Finance Category
Mobile innovations have changed the way we handle our money
especially how enterprises and individuals access and consume financial
services. Innovative ways of delivering services such as money transfer,
banking, commercial transactions, insurance and payment systems are
bound to improve the efficacy of our financial services. Applications
and services submitted in this category should target to improve service
accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness of the financial sector in
East Africa and beyond.
Enterprise Category
Efficiency is essential in keeping large and small enterprises
afloat. Management of human and capital resources, the value chain,
marketing, production processes, customers and other aspects of the
modern day business require constant innovation as an imperative to
remain competitive. Such innovations will support achievement of
objectives among businesses such as to maximize revenues and profits,
and to remain relevant in the market place. Applications and services
submitted in this category should ideally offer technological
opportunities to large and small enterprises in process innovation that
leads to efficient management of their resources.
Entertainment Category
Life can be hectic and everybody needs entertainment. It refreshes
your mind and helps to change your moods and raise energy levels as
personally desired. The value of entertainment in our lives cannot be
understated. Technology has influenced our awareness and choice of
entertainment methods. This is most profoundly illustrated by the many
options for gaming, music and videos available in the mobile and online
market place. Accessibility of entertainment has also improved in recent
times with the ubiquity of mobile devices. Applications and services
submitted in this category should provide innovative ways of delivering
entertainment value to the increasingly sophisticated populations of
East Africa and beyond.
Social Impact and Governance Category
People in East Africa continue to embrace the mobile phone as an
essential tool for day-to-day chores. Indeed, possibilities for delivery
of important services such as health-care, education, and governance
increase with adoption of technology. The effect of this is amplified in
geographical areas traditionally deprived of modern infrastructure.
Moreover, activities such as farming, livestock rearing, and other
economically productive activities among individuals can receive a boost
with mobile technologies and solutions being the game changing
enablers. Development of public data access platforms such as the open
government data initiatives in various countries and the World Bank’s
data portal further present opportunities for information service
innovation. The society in general is thus bound to expect more services
delivered seamlessly in the course of people’s mobility. Applications
and services submitted in this category should therefore, present new
socially and economically relevant ways of improving livelihoods and
productivity for people in East Africa and beyond.
Utilities Category
With the mobile phone increasingly becoming the primary device for
communication, computing and information storage, innovations are
required to enrich and reinforce the device’s usefulness. Mobile
software and hardware technologies present technology entrepreneurs with
the opportunity to develop services such as mobile data backup
services, energy saving and resource optimization. Other utility
services such as interfacing mobile technologies with existing
electronic equipment including televisions, vehicles and other utilities
amplify the usability and versatility of mobile phone technology.
Applications and services in this category should aim to reinforce the
usability and versatility of mobile devices. This category may also be
used as a “catch all” basket to submit applications and services that do
not easily fit into the other four competition categories.
Moreinfo: http://pivoteast.com
