Image: Tshepiso Pholo/ TMG Makerspace
The finalists will each receive €10,000 and a funded trip to Ireland to meet with investors and industry leaders.
The Irish Tech Challenge today (10 September) announced seven start-ups to participate in a week-long accelerator programme at Dogpatch Labs in Dublin. Many of this year’s finalists are focusing on sustainability challenges.
“This year’s group of finalists are tackling a diverse range of challenges facing countries across the globe and the backgrounds of the founders reflect the diverse make-up of South Africa, which is truly the country’s strength,” said Hesus Inoma, entrepreneur in residence at Dogpatch Labs.
The programme is a partnership between the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, the South African Department of Science and Innovation and the Technology Innovation Agency in Pretoria.
“The Irish Tech Challenge is a flagship programme for the Irish Embassy and our partners, providing an important link for South African entrepreneurs to the Irish tech ecosystem,” said Austin Gormley, ambassador of Ireland to South Africa.
The 2024 edition received more than 350 applications from South African start-ups, with seven being ultimately chosen as the finalists. The finalists will each receive a grant of €10,000 and a funded trip to Ireland this month for a week-long accelerator programme at Dogpatch Labs. There, they will also meet with Irish tech leaders and potential investors to discuss various challenges and prepare for project scalability.
Here is the full list of this year’s finalists:
- Adbot – founded by Michelle Geere, Adbot aims to make online advertising easy, effective and accessible to small and medium businesses.
- Athena – founded by Jabulani Nyembe, Athena helps patients split medical bills into monthly instalments.
- Credipple – founded by Kgololo Lekoma, Credipple connects companies across the world to remote work talent with in-demand skills.
- Momint – founded by Ahren Posthumus, Momint aims to accelerates clean energy globally and securely using Blockchain technology.
- Samanjalo – founded by Prudence Simelane, Samajalo launched a green-tech solution that tackles carbon emissions.
- SmartView Technologies – founded by Charnte Marthinus, SmartView Technologies created a SaaS Solution that helps customers to simplify utility management.
- The Awareness Company – founded by Priaash Ramadeen, The Awareness Company a the Hydra software product to balance operational efficiency and sustainability.
“The South African entrepreneurs joining us for an immersion week are developing solutions to address critical sustainability challenges. Our own Irish entrepreneurs can learn how we can incorporate this mindset into our own tech ecosystem, while supporting the South Africans in rolling out their technologies to the rest of the world,” said Ashley Shak, Head of Sustainability and Innovation Programmes at Dogpatch Labs.
Tumelo Chiloane is one of the five founders selected last year for the accelerator. Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Chiloane said that one of his objectives in coming to Dublin was to expand his network and immerse himself in the Irish ecosystem.
“We are currently raising funding so that we can increase our distribution capacity, and that’s one opportunity I’m looking to explore through connections here,” he said. Chiloane’s start-up, Desert Green Africa, connects farmers with traders via an agritech platform to address rural South Africa’s food-security problem.
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