Seven Kenyan startups are among the eastern regional winners of the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa 2022/23.
The winners include Gjenge Makers, an organisation working towards sustainable and affordable alternative construction materials that was named the best founder of the year, and Farmer Lifeline the best startup of 2023.
Thynx Care Foundation was the role model in the diversity category while Zuri –was best in health tech, BasiGo in mobility and logistics, Crypsense Digital in web 3.0 and Saniwise in the ecosystem.
The other eight startups were from Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mauritius and Rwanda.
Launched in 2021, GSA Africa is a platform dedicated to showcasing and scaling Africa's most promising startups.
“These winners represent the top startups in both their home country and region -This competition is all about building global bridges between our continent’s most exceptional solutions and the people, markets and communities where they can make the most significant impact,” said Caitlin Nash, GSA Africa and Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) co-founder.
This year’s competition focused on solutions in agriculture, climate change, commerce, education, healthcare, and mobility and logistics, with a particular interest in startups championing Web 3.0 technologies, sustainable business models, green innovation, and diversity in the workplace.
“With 747 finalists across all five regions, this year’s competition did not disappoint! …Interesting to note that – from Algeria to South Africa, Senegal to Somalia, and everywhere in between – 34 percent of this year’s entrants were tackling green innovation. These startups are proof that Africa is the tech continent of the future,” said Jo Griffiths, GSA Africa and GIIG co-founder.
Seventy-one startups from across 23 African countries have been named regional winners and will face off against one another in the finals.
These regional winners will advance to the continental finals of the GSA Africa competition, where they will compete against their counterparts from Northern, Southern, Western, and Central Africa.
Startups crowned an African winner will then join the GSA Grand Finale where they will have a unique opportunity to showcase their solutions alongside some of the world’s top entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and ecosystem enablers.
