Startup Knight 2014 has a theme of “Technology that Enables”. Specifically, they are looking for concepts and startups that support the SMME sector.
The theme is framed as “concepts and startups that are focused on innovations that enable SMEs to operate more efficiently, more competitively or achieve scalability”. Think SnapScan, Freshbooks, Dropbox, Uber – startups that have have made it possible for various SMEs to operate more efficiently, be more competitive and achieve scalability.
The competition has two streams:
- Concept Stream: The concepts need to be original and the entrants are required to demonstrate feasibility, viability, commercialisation prospects and market impact
- Startup Stream: Startup entries on the other hand need to be post prototype and already in pilot or revenue generating.
There are prizes for each of these streams. The opportunity is significant, although particapants in the concept stream should note:
The winning concept agrees that all intellectual property of the concept will be transferred over to Byte Orbit upon winning the R100 000. After completion of the competition Byte Orbit and their partnering companies may decide to engage the winner of the concept to work with them to develop the concept. – See more at: http://startupknight.co.za/terms_and_conditions
The total value of prizes is in excess of R 500 000-00. Prizes will be awarded as follows:
- Concept Stream: This year the overall winner of the concept stream will win R 100,000. First runner-up will not walk away empty handed and will receive a prize of R 35,000, and the second runner-up will receive R25,000.
- Startup Stream: The overall winner of the startup stream will win R 150,000 worth of Software development and R 100,000 in PR. The Runner-up will win a total of R 50,000 in PR or Software development.
For more information on the competition, please visit Startup Knight by clicking this link.
The organiser have provided the following overview of their aims and the competition:
The purpose of the competition is to promulgate, support and embrace tech startups in South Africa. Although there are many startup competitions hosted in South Africa, Startup Knight is differentiated through the partnerships created to build and commercialise the winning innovations. Experience has taught us that it takes more than money to turn an idea or innovation into a viable growing business. Therefore we leverage experience, expertise and partnerships to create our winning formula on top of the financial commitment.
The winner of Startup Knight in 2012 excelled and received additional funding at Google Umbono and Startup Knight is proud to boast that our platform was the stepping stone for their success.
In 2013 we introduced the concept phase of the competition. The winning concept, Air Taxi, was incubated for commercialisation by Standard Bank. The winning Startup, Micket, benefited from mentoring, development and PR. The mentoring resulted in a pivot in the startup’s business model and Micket will be handling the guest list and invites for Startup Knight this year. Also in 2013 Startup Knight produced a record setting 80 entries.
In 2014 we will be increasing the stakes to make this year’s competition the biggest best Startup Knight yet. In order to achieve this we have appointed an award winning PR team to increase awareness of the competition and we have also increased the entry period from four weeks to six weeks. Our main sponsor – Standard Bank – has assisted us with increasing the value of the prizes which is now stands in excess of R 500,000 and provides us with the opportunity to create more winners. We have also added more structure to the entry process in order to increase the quality of the entries.