20 Dec African Startup of the year 2017

Organized by Bonjour Idée with the support of 50+ partners (international corporations, incubators, chambers of commerce, media, competitive centers, influential blogs), Startup of the Year® is a competition for innovative African startups. While shedding light on disruptive startups, this competition is meant to add value to the partners’ actions at the heart of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of innovation and startups, and put them in contact with innovative startups.

Eligibility Criteria

The competition is free and open to all startups meeting the following criteria:

• Have legal status (a registration number will be required)
• Headquartered in Africa to be chosen as the “African Startup of the Year” and for “OCP Agritech Special Award”.

No geographical restrictions for the other awards are required.

• The Startup foundation date has to be from 1 january 2010

The Rewards

The “Startup of the Year/Africa – 2017” Judging Panel’s Awards:

• 1st Prize: a cheque for €10,000 and a €10,000 communications package (featured on bonjouridee.com, communications campaign in the press and on social media). The winning startup will be networked with all the competition partners
• The panel’s award for its favourite entry: A €10,000communications package . The winning startup will be networked with all the competition partners

The Public’s Awards

• 1st Prize as voted by the public (1st position in the #TOP100 after the public vote): a cheque for €2,000, Bonjour Idée communication package and the startup will be put in contact with all the competition partners
• 2nd – 5th Prizes as voted by the public: Bonjour Idée’ communication package.

The Partners’ Special Awards

In addition to the judging panel and the public awards, our partners will grant Special Awards, each one accompanied by a cheque for up to €5,000, support packages and Bonjour Idée communicationpackage.

• OCP Agritech Special Award which will be given to an innovative agricultural startup.
• The SNCF Destination Africa Special Award which will be given to an international startup willing to settle in Africa.
• The African Diaspora Special Award which will be given to a startup founded by an African diaspora member .

The calendar

• 9 November 2016 from 10am ‘til midday official launch event conference for the Startup of the Year/Africa 2017 competition, held at COP 22 in Marrakech (Morocco)
• Until 31 December 2016: call for applications and online submissions
• from 2 ‘til 15 January 2017:Public vote to determine the public’s top 100 startups.
• 26 January 2017: Conference and awards ceremony in Casablanca, Morocco.

The process continues throughout the year, promoting African startups and monitoring actions undertaken by partners as part of open innovation programmes to support entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa.

More Information

Visit the Official Webpage of the African Startup of the year