Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 Startups pitched during the National Finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup competition held recently in Johannesburg, South Africa and only 3 startups were selected to advance to the Global Finalists to compete against national winners from 200 countries. The startups that were selected are:

· Dr William Mapham, Founder of Vula Mobile, an app that is used by health workers to get advice and refer patients to specialists.

· Portia Mavhungu, Founder of PRD Logical Solutions, a medical innovation company that focuses on innovative medical devices for persons who are wheelchair bound

· Claybourne Appies, Founder of Deaf Touch solutions, an ICT company with a key focus on providing communication technology solutions

In preparation for the EWC Global Finals, Dr William Mapham, Portia Mavhungu and Claybourne Appies will participate in an acceleration program which features virtual training and one-to-one mentoring targeted to their company’s current stage and growth trajectory. The Global Finals are set to take place in October 2020

Vula Mobile, PRD Logical Solutions and Deaf Touch emerged victorious from a pool of 7000 contestants who applied – each receiving access to free virtual training services and up to $25,000 in perks to help them take their venture to the next level.

Other finalists at EWC South Africa included:

· Desert Green Africa: a startup that focuses on small scale farmers with average mobile connection looking to increase yields and quality to supply commercial markets.

· Snode Technologies: a cybersecurity business using mathematics and machine learning to identify fraud, data leakage and advanced cyber-attack.

· Nybble: a fintech dedicated to leverage technology to unleash people’s economic potential and drive financial inclusion. Their flagship product Little Fish connects customers to small local businesses

· Evolve Abroad: an academy that collaborates with global specialists who facilitate education, growth, skills development, engagement and valuable experiences across the globe

· SpanLula: an online platform that provides convenient access to skills & job opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) for unemployed youth in historically disadvantaged communities such as the townships and rural areas of South Africa.

· Dabiya Legacy Technologies: an easy to use web-based application, targeted at Sub Saharan Africa, that allows users to apply for services such as visas, permits and passports as well as perform identity verification securely on any device.

· Desco Electronic Users: a startups that offers a socially responsible solution for E-Waste and we give you peace of mind ensuring that your business is contributing to reducing its carbon footprint, as well as recycling E-Waste responsibly.

· Nubian Smarts: an Edtech company that aims to create educational solutions that will engage and inspire the African child. We have combined the science behind addictive mobile games with the curriculum to create an affordable educational gaming app, to promote the understanding of the Grade 1 maths curriculum.

Judges for the competition were:

· Muzi Gumede, Programmes Officer, 22 ON SLOANE

· Kelebogile Molopyane, CEO , Africa Beyond 4IR

· Dr Tiisetso Lephoto, Founder, Nematech

More than 150,000 contestants from 200 countries entered the Entrepreneurship World Cup. The initiative combines a broad-reaching pitch competition, aimed at ventures ranging from idea stage to growth stage, with a virtual accelerator program to help all participants launch,

strengthen, and scale their enterprises. Global Finalists will face off against one another at the Misk Global Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October.

EWC is an initiative led by the Misk Global Forum, Global Entrepreneurship Network and the Global Education and Leadership Foundation with support from a collection of national and global partners, including the GSVlabs and Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

About the Misk Global Forum

The Misk Global Forum (MGF) is the flagship international platform of the Misk Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic foundation established by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discover, develop and empower Saudi youth to become active participants in the future economy. Since its launch in 2016, MGF has extended Misk’s mission to young people across the globe. Through international events, research and global initiatives, MGF brings together emerging and established leaders, innovators, and creators to explore, experience and experiment with ways to meet the challenge of change. MGF focuses on three core areas across its activations: skills for the future economy; entrepreneurship and employment; and active global citizenship. Website: https://miskglobalforum.com/about-mgf/

About the Global Entrepreneurship Network

The Global Entrepreneurship Network operates a platform of projects and programs in 170 countries aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems that create jobs, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. Website: https://www.genglobal.org

About the Global Education & Leadership Foundation

The Global Education & Leadership Foundation (tGELF) is a non-profit that seeks to identify and nurture leadership skills in individuals who are rooted in the values of ethics and altruism, and have a bias for action. tGELF was officially inaugurated in 2008 by the then Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh. In the last decade, tGELF’s flagship school curriculum on ethical leadership and entrepreneurship has expanded from just six schools in India to over 3000 schools across 14 countries touching more than 3 million students. tGELF’s community of future leaders and change-makers have also undertaken numerous high impact projects that have collectively impacted the lives of over 500 million people and raised over $6.38 bn dollars in commitments from governments, philanthropists, corporations and multilaterals for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Website: http://www.tgelf.org