StartUp Afrika

Startups are small companies but play a key role in economic growth. They create more jobs which means more employment and consequently leads to an improved economy. This initiative showcases some of Africa’s top social entrepreneurs and pioneers in diverse fields, who are creating prototype solutions across both tech and non-tech divides to help Africa solve its critical challenges around digitization, fashion industry, cleantech and climate change, education, etc., and will leverage new technologies to create innovative solutions that have a significant impact on the society or the environment.

StartUp Africa Goal

• Promote Baden-Württemberg and African actors to build networks for sustainable economy which in turn will affect both African and German markets positively.
• Engage, identify, and partner with viable smart startup businesses in Africa and Baden-Württemberg.
• Enhance partnerships between African and German startups, create room for networking and knowledge-sharing, and open participants to cutting-edge solutions that could launch their businesses further
• Undergird the existing community of African innovators through training, exhibition, pitch and subsequent seed grant as they seek to build solutions for social change

Focus Group

Aspiring and early-stage innovators and social entrepreneurs in Baden-Württemberg and Sub-Saharan Africa, with emphasis on Nigeria and Burundi.
This programme will see over 50 startups and social entrepreneurs from these regions pitch their ideas and innovations to our panel of judges. Successful startups stand a chance to win and secure a seed grant of up to 10,000€.

Cooperation Partners

The Ministry of Baden-Württemberg and SEZ, partners and sponsors of StartUp Africa, share a common interest in enabling start-ups build solutions that will help Africa solve some of its biggest challenges. In our 2021 edition, we have strategically aligned to host this event in one of Africa’s biggest economy and startup hubs, Nigeria, and subsequently, across Africa. The two-day hybrid event will cover remote participants from Baden-Württemberg and live participants from Lagos, Nigeria.