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  The Global Startups Awards (GSA) exists to discover and recognize startups from across the world that are achieving great feats in their ecosystems. In 2021, for the first time, it’s including startups from Africa in the global competition.
Read more about Opportunities
As such, tech-driven ventures from across the continent now stand the chance of being connected to a global network of investors and receiving increased visibility for the work they do. The GSA Africa Awards includes two award categories: Startups Category and Ecosystem Category. Both these are divided into subcategories. The competition will begin at the national level, from which national winners will be selected. It will advance to the regional stage (East, West, North, South, and Central Africa), and on to the continental stage. Winners at the Africa level will contest at the global finals.

Benefits

Winners at the Africa level of the competition will benefit in the following ways:
  • They will be invited to apply for funding from the GIIG Africa Fund
  • Gain visibility nationally, regionally, and globally through the GSA network
  • Gain access to the GSA Alumni, which comes with global support for their startup
  • Matched with global investors, incubators, and accelerators
  • Access products and services provided by the competition’s prize sponsors

Eligibility

Startups applying for this competition should meet the following criteria:
  • Not be older than five years (from establishment date to when public nominations open)
  • A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in the market
  • Should be generating monthly recurring revenue
  • Have a team of at least two people
  • Have at least one African founder or co-founder
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Award Categories

The award categories are as follows: Startup Categories: ESG Tech (Environmental, Social Impact, or Corporate Governance), Agritech, Commerce Tech, Women in Tech, Health Tech, and Industrial Tech. Ecosystem Categories: Startup of the Year, Best Newcomer, Founder of the Year, Venture Capitalist of the Year, Best Accelerator, Best Incubator Program, and Best Coworking Space.

How The Competition Will Unfold

Entries for the competition will be accepted until September 30. National winners for each category will be announced in October 2021. In the months that follow, regional finalists will be made known, and public voting will commence. About 60 winners (12 from each region) will be revealed. This will happen by December 2021. Next, continental finalists will be disclosed. This will be followed by public voting and jury ranking of the participating startups. The 12 winners for Africa (1 per category) will be announced in February 2022. Winners at the Africa level will be eligible to contest at the global stage, with winners in the latter revealed by December 2022. The deadline for entering the GSA Africa Competition is Thursday, September 30. If you would like to enter this competition, click here
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This article was first published on 3rd September 2021

ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.

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