This week’s AfricArena Nairobi Climate Tech Summit celebrated the success of six innovative African start-ups that emerged victorious from rigorous pitching battles. The summit, a key event in the continent’s green economy calendar, showcased the potential of African technology in addressing environmental challenges.
Over 20 businesses participated in the pre-summit AfricArise Founder’s Bootcamp, where they received intensive training. These start-ups, operating across clean tech, climate tech, agri-tech, and circular economy sectors, faced tough scrutiny from investors as they pitched their scalable solutions.
During the two-day summit, each start-up had just five minutes to convince investors of the viability and impact of their ventures. The winners demonstrated the transformative potential of combining technology with green finance to tackle pressing environmental issues in Africa.
The summit recognized standout start-ups in various categories: MonSapo from Tunisia won the Best Clean-Tech Start-Up award for its innovative use of AI in converting used cooking oil into eco-friendly products. Kenya’s Rhea received the Best Climate-Tech Start-Up award for its soil nutrient analysis solution. GenePlus Global Limited, also from Kenya, took the Best Agri-Tech Start-Up award for its advancements in agricultural biotechnology. Gjenge Makers, another Kenyan enterprise, earned the Best Circular Economy Start-Up award for its efforts in recycling plastic waste.
Additionally, Flat6Labs Africa Seed Fund won the Best Investor Pitch Award, and Ecolinks, a South Korean renewable energy developer focusing on solar and clean cooking projects, was named Most Promising Entrepreneur. Each winning start-up received $25,000 in AWS Activate credits and will advance to the AfricArena Grand Summit.
Gerishom Manyengo of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center noted the significant impact of Kenya’s tech ecosystem on the continent’s investment landscape. Henri Zietsman of AWS Startups praised AfricArena for highlighting Africa’s innovation hubs and fostering sustainable development across the region.
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