For immediate Release - Seedstars , the leading emerging market startup community and investor, has joined forces with Microsoft on the African continent once again. With the support of the multinational technology giant, the 5th Seedstars Summit Africa will be held in Johannesburg on December 3rd to 5th. Concluding the 2019 Seedstars World Competition for the African region, the Summit will showcase more than 23 of the most promising startups from Africa who will pitch in front of investors and industry experts.

“ Innovation is the birthright of every human being. We are excited to partner with Seedstars as they continue to transform and empower startups all over Africa, ” says Chris Lwanga, Senior Director of Software Partnerships at Microsoft . “ At Microsoft, we believe in empowering every person and organization to do more – and start-ups play a big role in this. ”

The event will take place at The Fox Junction and gather over 300 key stakeholders from over 25 countries in a 3-day journey that will conclude with the main stage conference, where the major technology and innovation trends of the region will be showcased and thoughtfully discussed. This year, a particular spotlight will be put on female entrepreneurship.

A three-day event, the Seedstars Summit Africa will launch with private bootcamps on Day 1 and its infamous Investor Forum on Day 2. On December 4th, Microsoft will host an exclusive workshop session during the Seedstars Bootcamp with 50+ entrepreneurs, including the 23 Seedstars World local winners.

The third and main day (December 5) will welcome all the participants willing to learn the latest tech trends, network and meet inspiring founders and entrepreneurs. Inspiring speakers and expert founders and CEOs of well-known African and international companies will gather, such as Refilwe Ledwaba, helicopter pilot, social entrepreneur and Obama Foundation Leader, Jason Eisen, founder and CEO at Utu, and many more. Chris Lwanga will also grace the main stage to talk about Microsoft’s commitment to help Innovators in Africa.

All through the day, Microsoft will provide tech support for any entrepreneur and startup.

“ Microsoft was once a start-up itself, and so we’re passionate about supporting entrepreneurs in their growth journeys, providing access to technology tools, networks, skills and mentorship,” says Lwanga from Microsoft . “Through our various initiatives, including Microsoft 4Afrika and Headstart, we’ve been fortunate to work directly with hundreds of African start-ups. Our focus is on partnering with influential partners, like Seedstars, to build an enabling and self-sustaining environment. Start-ups are at the forefront of innovation that unlocks economic value and societal impact. ”

The ten most promising ventures will then be selected to participate in the Seedstars Summit 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland and compete for the title of the Seedstars Global Winner. The participating teams will get a chance to pitch their idea on the main stage along with 60+ startups from all over the world and win up to USD 500 000 in equity investments. To get updates on more event speakers and agenda, please subscribe to the event monthly digest (choose Africa a region of your interest).

ABOUT SEEDSTARS
"They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds." - Mexican proverb
Seedstars is a Swiss-based private group of companies with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship. The groups’ activities cover over 80 emerging ecosystems through a variety of events such as the Seedstars World Competition , acceleration programs, physical hubs called Seedspace , venture capital investments and company building activities.

ABOUT MICROSOFT
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower  every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.

ABOUT SEEDSTARS WORLD COMPETITION
Seedstars World is the world's largest startup competition in emerging markets. For the past six years, Seedstars Teams travel around for a 9-month world tour and scout for the best early-stage startups in 65+ countries, organizing 100+ events. One winner is selected to represent each country visited, and is
invited to attend one of the 5 Regional Summits, reuniting all local winners of each region to network with regional investors, mentors and corporates. Local winners are also awarded the chance to represent their countries at the Seedstars Summit, the competition’s final happening in Switzerland, where startups
compete for up to $500,000 in investment. The Seedstars Summit is the flagship event of Seedstars, filled with breakout sessions, panel discussions, specialized workshops and the best minds from emerging markets.