Startup - February 11, 2021

Meet the Winners of the 2020 Space-Tech Challenge

February 11, 2021

3 min read

The 2020 Space-Tech Earth Observation Innovation Challenge has announced the winners of the competition. Held by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and ZA SPACE, the challenge aims to support early-stage technology startups that are focused on using space technology to provide solutions for Africa.

Launched in September 2020, the challenge focuses on African innovators who are using geospatial intelligence industries on the continent such as agriculture, insurance, retail and sustainability and conservation. It also backed by RIIS, Maxar, FNB, SA Innovation Summit, and Anza Capital, aims to develop early-stage tech start-ups that are geared toward empowering Africa through utilizing the downstream applications of space technology.

The event received submissions from across Africa. Of these, 15 finalists were selected to go through to the final intense two-week virtual business development training, with an opportunity to pitch their innovative solutions in a pitching den to a panel of judges draw from the partners of the challenge.

The prizes include*:

Four-month online incubation and virtual mentorship, and ongoing access to a peer-to-peer network through the TechTribe Accelerator
First place winner: SecureWatch Premium 5GB valid for three months to the value of $12,500
Second place & Third place winners: SecureWatch Premium 2GB valid for three months to the value of $5,000

The prizes will be awarded based on the needs and scalability of winning startups.

The winners of the challenge are:

First place: Hydro Blu– Joash Kisten, South Africa
Second place: Smart AgrIoT- Jabu Madlala, South Africa
Third place: HeHe – Crepin Kayisire, Rwanda, & FieldDev Group Nigeria– Nduka Okpue, Nigeria

The 2021 Space-Tech Challenge:

The next version of the 2021 Space-Tech challenge will concentrate more on supporting new entrants and entrepreneurs around the value chain of the sector, which will enhance the geospatial readiness of Africa. The goal of the challenge will be to demystify the entrepreneurial space sector by bringing together relevant stakeholders, government agencies, trade organisations and civil society.

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