Denis Opudo
Global Startup Awards was launched in 2012. This is the most renowned startup-ecosystem globally that operates independently. The award operates in five different regions of Asia, Africa, and Europe where it is found in 45 different countries. Furthermore, Global Startup Awards operates hand in hand with South Africa Startup Awards. The Global Startup Awards’ regions include; Central and Eastern Europe region. The countries found in that region are Bulgaria, Poland, Chechia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Serbia, Romania, and Croatia. The other region is Nordic countries in Europe. The countries are Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. The third region is SAARC region. The countries are Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Maldives. The last region is South-East Asia region. The region has Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Philipines, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. South Africa Startup Awards has partnered with Tech in Africa.
The main aim of Southern Africa Startup Awards is to locate, connect and offer support to the important players in the startup ecosystem. Moreover, it celebrates important players in the startup ecosystem both regionally and globally. The awards also bring the key players together using a worldwide entrepreneurship network. South Africa is the latest to join the awards in 2018. This, therefore, creates vast opportunities for commercial exchange, international partnership, and investment opportunities.
Nominations are currently opened for all the 15 SADC trade organization countries. They include Seychelles, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Lesotho, DRC, Madagascar, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Malawi, and Angola. Individuals can also nominate outstanding startups from the stated countries.
The 2018 awards will have renowned and important judges from all over the world. The judges will comprise of Silicon Valley’s renowned investors. Furthermore, there will be outstanding startup ecosystem players from around and away from the region. Some of the judges include; Transunion Africa’s CEO Lee Naik. The startup comes from Johannesburg in SA. Co-founder of Electronic Arts from San Francisco in California Jeff Burton will also be present. Tanya Soman a Venture partner at 500 startups from San Francisco in California will take part in the awards. London based Hoxton Ventures will be represented by one of its partners Hussein Kanji. The list is endless we have just sampled just but a few individuals.
The finalists at the Regional Grand Finale will have an opportunity to meet the award partners and various winners. They will also meet founders, startups, and representatives of investment companies. The Global Startup Awards’ judges from all over the world will also be present. The awards give startups a chance to learn how they can take their businesses to another level. However, Southern Africa Startup Awards does reward startups financially. It only acts as a link between startups to the global network.
Regional and national round recognition opens up business opportunities for startups. This is according to the CEO at Glueck Technologies from Malaysia Alberrt Alexander. Glueck Technologies was the winner of the Best Deep Tech/AI/Big Data Startup category in the region. This took place at Asean Rice Bowl Startup Awards in 2016. Nordic Startup Awards is seen as the best organization. This is because they recognize startups and expose them. Exposure is the only sure deal for the success of the startups. This is according to the NextGen AMM at Denmark based Microsoft, Anette Nørgaard.
