Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Pineapple is a South African insuretech startup based in Johannesburg. The startup is selected among the 10 finalists of VentureClash, a global venture challenge for early-stage companies managed by Connecticut Innovations. Pineapple emerges as the only African startup among the finalists.
The other finalists are Atidot, Cinchy, Covr Financial Technologies, Curatio, Deep IT, EyeControl, MothersChoice, ReferWell and Tremor Technologies. All the finalists will take part in a live pitch event at Yale University on October 17th in front of a panel of judges.
The challenge aims to digital health, insuretech, fintech, and Internet of Things (IoT) companies from all around the globe. They all compete to get the opportunity for a $5 million of investment, mentoring, customer introductions and services from Connecticut Innovations that help them to grow their business.
More than 300 companies from 20 countries around the world applied for this year’s VentureClash challenge. The applications for the challenge completed in June and only yesterday the 10 finalists were announced by the organizer.
Judges will determine the winners of the competition as well as distribute the top investment award or $1.5 million and $3.5 million. The winners will be announced on the day of the event.
Pineapple was founded in 2017 by Matthew Elan Smith, Ndabenhle Junior Ngulube, and Marnus van Heerden. The startup provides peer-to-peer insurance that enables customers to insure their possessions by uploading a picture to Pineapple’s mobile app.
When asked about how he felt about the announcement, Smith said he and the team were thrilled. He is confident that their solution solves global issues and can stand firm on the global stage.
Pineapple is an alumnus of the Google Launchpad Africa. Last year, it was selected to join Hartford InsurTech Hub. Even before that, the startup secured R5.2 million in seed funding from Lireas Holdings.
Source: ventureburn.com
