Grace Ashiru
Latitude59, Estonia’s leading event for startups and technology, is now actively inviting early-stage startups from across Africa to compete for a significant prize pool of non-equity financial support. The event, which marked its 12th edition in May in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, attracted an impressive turnout of over 3,500 participants. Among the crowd were more than 900 startup enthusiasts and nearly 600 investors.
In its commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, Latitude59 is opening the doors for African startups to participate in the upcoming pitch competition, which will be one of the standout features of the next Latitude59 event. Before the main event, selected startups will get the chance to present their business ideas at a special Latitude59 conference taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 28.
The winner of this regional round will earn a spot to pitch at the main Latitude59 event. For the last two years, the Latitude59 pitch competition has offered a substantial prize pool, boasting EUR 1 million (around US$1.1 million).
Liisi Org, the CEO of Latitude59, expressed excitement over the growing talent pool emerging from Africa, particularly highlighting the remarkable performance of African startups in last year’s competition. These startups have excelled in key industries such as green technology, financial technology, and clean technology. Motivated by these outstanding results, Latitude59 is returning to Kenya for the second year in a row, inviting founders from across the African continent to apply and participate in the Latitude59 pitch competition in Kenya. Applications are open until November 1.
