The Irish Tech Challenge, a prestigious competition that identifies and supports high-impact South African start-ups, has announced its top seven finalists for the 2024 edition.
Launched in 2022, the Irish Tech Challenge is a leading partnership between the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in Pretoria. Dogpatch Labs in Dublin and the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in Johannesburg serve as key implementation partners.
The 2024 edition received more than 350 applicants from South African start-ups, with seven ultimately selected as finalists. Each of these finalists will receive a grant of €10,000 and a funded trip to Ireland at the end of September to participate in an intensive weeklong accelerator and mentorship programme hosted in Dublin by Dogpatch Labs.
“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. The growth and success of the programme is a testament to the abundance of talent and creative thinking among South African entrepreneurs. This year’s cohort showcases innovation across a number of sectors and will benefit hugely from this experience. We look forward to growing this successful partnership in the coming years,” said Austin Gormley, Ambassador of Ireland to South Africa.
Dogpatch Labs will serve as the base for the South African entrepreneurs while they are in Dublin. While at Dogpatch, the startups will meet with a select group of Irish tech leaders and potential investors who will help them face the challenges of limited resources, infrastructure, networks and staffing while preparing for scalability across Africa, Europe and beyond.
“Our mission at Dogpatch is to create an innovation ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs. 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.
Hesus Inoma, Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Dogpatch Labs, said this year’s cohort is an excellent reflection of the rapidly developing tech sector in South Africa. “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 makeup of South Africa, which is truly the country’s strength. We are very excited to be part of their journey.”
The top seven selected startups in this year’s Irish Tech Challenge are:
- Adbot: founder Michelle Geere makes online advertising easy, effective and accessible to small and medium businesses.
- Athena and lead founder Jabulani Nyembe help patients to split medical bills into monthly installments.
- Credipple and founder Kgololo Lekoma connect companies across the world to remote work talent with in-demand skills.
- Momint and lead founder Ahren Posthumus accelerate clean energy globally, fractionally and securely using Blockchain technology.
- SAMANJALO and its founder Prudence Simelane have launched a Green Tech solution that addresses carbon emissions of fossil fuels.
- SmartView Technologies and its founder Charnte Marthinus have created a SaaS Solution that helps customers simplify utility management with insights that reduce running costs.
- The Awareness Company and lead founder Priaash Ramadeen have launched HYDRA, a software product that balances operational efficiency with sustainable impact.
