50 East African startups in mobility space competing at PIVOT East 2014

PIVOT East is East Africa’s premier mobile startups pitching competition and conference held annually since 2011. PIVOT East, an innovative startups competition geared towards nurturing the growing ICT talent in East Africa, has unveiled its semi-finalist list for this year’s competition. The competition opened a call for applications in February 2014 with startups from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia applying through an online portal (http://startups.pivoteast.com)

The selection criteria were made public prior to the submission deadline. A panel of 15 thought leaders in the startup world was drawn from across the region to review the submissions. They selected the top 10 startups in five categories. The semi-finalists totaling 50, will be competing to be in the list of 25 exceptional mobile startups set to fight it out for market recognition and investor interest during the finals conference on June 24th - 25th.

The panel for selection of the final top 25 consists of over 15 active investors, including venture capital firms, angel investors and impact investors.

About 75 mobile startups from across East Africa have participated as finalists of the past PIVOT East editions. And 20% of them have cumulatively raised over $4.7million in funding after their participation in the competition.

The semi-finalists of PIVOT East 2014 listed by category in alphabetical order are as follows:

Enterprise Category

• A SiM Mobile (Kenya): A SiM Mobile is a supply chain mobile solution integrated seamlessly with most popular accounting, ERP apps in the world. A SiM Mobile solves critical challenges related to data collection, transmission, report creation, analysis, reconciliation and operations controls.
• Buymore (Kenya): With a vision to make the world a cheaper place for students, Buymore offers student discounts that enhance user retail experience and push foot fall for merchants. This startup is currently being incubated at @iBizAfrica.
• KejaHunt (Kenya): KejaHunt is an online property listing platform that helps you find a house and a roommate, and gives visibility to local businesses.
• OffersAfrica.com (Kenya): Is a digital and dynamic marketing platform for businesses, which benefit from a dedicated platform to manage their marketing activities.
• Online Hisab (Ethiopia): Online Hisab is a cloud-based accounting package for Ethiopian SMEs, who are looking for an affordable and easy to use accounting solution.
• RTSOP (Kenya): RTSOP is an online and mobile-phone based platform that enables logistic companies which suffer empty return trips to commercialize return trips.
• Sapama.com (Kenya): Sapama.com enables property agents to list and manage property details such as tenants, landlords, tenancy, rent and utilities details.
• Sootano (Kenya): Sootano provides a platform for Businesses and Freelancers to connect. It facilitates finding and contracting reliable service providers for jobs or projects
• Sages Asset King (Kenya): Sages Asset King is a mobile app letting you do an efficient and paperless asset audit of tagged business assets via smartphone.
• ThinVoid (Uganda): ThinVoid implements solutions & strategy that accelerate data collection.

Finance Category

• Beyonic (Uganda): Aims to eliminate cash by creating the best solutions that enable business to make payments using mobile money. Recently, the company had a successful roll-out of their flagship product Funds-To-Phones.
• Bill-On (Kenya): Bill-on is a mobile application that enables users to pay multiple monthly bills all at the touch of a button.
• ChamaSoft (Kenya): Is an investment group management platform which manages administration of chamas, allowing them to concentrate on investment rather than administration.
• Chura (Kenya): Chura connects mobile users to all networks and their services from a single SIM card.
• Ensibuuko (Uganda): Leveraging mobile and web technologies to improve access to finance for small holder rural farmers.
• FarmDrive (Kenya): FarmDrive connects smallholder farmers to people with disposable income who want to invest in agribusiness ventures.
• Kadi (Kenya): Kadi is a mobile application that enables school going students to carry their pocket money and make purchases with the use of NFC technology.
• Mchama (Kenya): Mchama is a mobile App that helps self-help groups (chamas) that do table banking capture and keep their records timely and accurately.
• Tevat ltd (Kenya): Tevat aims to give entrepreneurs a platform to leverage family, friends, chamas & existing base of fans/supporters to collectively raise capital in exchange for equity.
• Valuraha ( Kenya): The Valuraha Trader is a platform that simulates the Nairobi Securities Exchange & the conventional investment instruments in Kenya.

Entertainment Category

• Endiba (Uganda): Endiba provides the best in all local sport for every soccer lover. They provide you with league information such as league table, results, news and player profile.
• Epic (Kenya): Epic provides a three-prong approach to moving the Media houses from in-effective shoot-and-miss online content delivery, to a structured measurable, cost-effective way of creating profitable digital content.
• FunKe Science (Kenya): FunKe Science is a learning platform that seeks to teach science in a way that is both exciting and easy.
• Jifunza (Rwanda): Jifunza builds digital experiences and games to expose the beauty, diversity and culture of Africa to the world to change negative stereotypes about the continent.
• MapJam (Kenya): MapJam helps internet users find things & events with a dedicated search platform.
• Muva Studios (Kenya): Muva Studios develops small engaging games for low-end devices and high-end devices to cover the larger market.
• Momentum Core (Kenya): Momentum Core develops simulation and entertainment games for the growing need by the environment around the globe.
• Safari Tales (Kenya): Safari Tales is an edutainment Android mobile application for children to access Digital African Narratives & learn African Languages.
• Throughpass (Kenya): Throughpass is a soccer networking platform that empowers aspiring professional footballers to connect with coaches, agents/scouts and fans from around the world.
• UbongoKids (Tanzania): Ubongo Kids is a multi-platform, interactive edu-cartoon with SMS interaction broadcasting on TV to kids in Tanzania & online for kids around the world.

 Utilities Category 

• Askari (Uganda): ASKARI is a mobile/web/SMS platform that crowd-sources for crime data and provides users with information on security, updates on crime reports, dangerous crime zones and location of police stations.
• CladLight (Kenya): CladLight presents a solution to motorcycle accidents using the Smart Jacket -- a reflective jacket fitted with bright indicator lights.
• Gari Sms (Kenya): GARI SMS links car buyer and seller using SMS. The seller registers the car details (including price) via SMS then puts a 'GARI SMS sticker' on the car. When the buyer spots the sticker, he knows the car is on sale. The prospective buyer then queries the car details by sending the car's registration number to an SMS shortcode which then sends the details as per the seller's description.
• Maramoja Transport (Kenya): Maramoja is Kenyan social enterprise dedicated to providing easy access to safe, reliable transport services through your mobile device.
• Mafundi (Kenya): Mafundi is a web and mobile startup that connects home and office owners with broken items to the best technicians around to repair their items by selecting the best rated in their area then contacting them to fix their items.
• Matserve Msafiri (Kenya): Matserve Msafiri is a road safety Android app integrated with a web app to solve the challenges faced by stakeholders in the transport industry. The app facilitates reports on road menaces to mitigate accidents caused by avoidable human errors & impunity.
• Mavazi (Kenya): Mavazi is an application that provides an easy way for users to digitally organize their closet and plan what to wear by cataloging and selecting from their items. They also get to share the styles they've put together with their friends and hear from them.
• ParcelSolution (Kenya): is a mobile-based parcel notification solution that helps courier companies alert customers about the status of their parcels, when the parcels are on the way and when the parcels are available for collection.
• Sendy (Kenya): Sendy is a platform for on-demand errands. With the tap of a button, you instantly connect senders and riders and pay via your mobile phone.
• Shulewiki (Tanzania): Is a one-stop school directory that helps education scholars to find the best school, view performance trends and get in touch with all schools. ShuleWiki gives you all the information on schools in Tanzania.

Society Category

• Andrush Systems (Uganda): Findit is a communication tool that lets organizations reach their target community with pertinent, actionable and relevant information. In every case, Findit puts local-language SMS, voice messaging and other telecoms technology in the hands of project managers and field leaders to efficiently send community members information that interests them.
• AgrInfo (Tanzania): AgrInfo is mobile and web portal addressing the challenge of land ownership verification, solves land conflicts between villagers and investors using GIS by mapping the plots and using mobile GPS for surveying locations.
• Benchcare (Kenya): Benchcare is a cloud-based application modeled towards easing physician’s workflow. The software focuses on efficient administration and operation of small practices predominantly with the aim of maximizing productivity.
• Moquestions (Uganda): Moquestion is an online question bank with a purpose of connecting learning institutions with people around the world.
• mWakili (Kenya): mWakili is aimed at solving the problems which many Kenyans experience concerning legal affairs. It helps the user to locate a law firm of his/her choice and enables him/her to enquire about a particular case directly to the law firm. It also gives the users basic legal steps to follow when carrying out an activity e.g registering a company.
• SokoText (Kenya): SokoText uses SMS based pre-ordering service to make it easier for small fruit and vegetable sellers in slums to get their daily stock. SokoText is a social enterprise based in Mathare slum in Nairobi.
• Somo (Kenya): SOMO is a SMS service that delivers daily Bible readings to members of the Catholic faith upon subscription.
• SokoNect (Kenya): SokoNect uses mobile technology and the Kenyan County government to reduce farmers post harvest losses and maximize profits by eliminating brokers. SokoNect enables farmers to upload information about availability of their produce or sale enabling buyers to prepare enough package materials.
• TotoHealth (Kenya): TotoHealth enables hospitals and organizations to communicate and provide targeted information on antenatal & postnatal care using low-cost phones.
• Zapmedic by Bitways Limited (Uganda): Zapmedia is an online medical appointment scheduling service with a primary goal of improving access to health care by helping patients find healthcare practitioners online in an easy and convenient way.

YourStory Africa would like to congratulate the semi-finalists and wish them good luck in the next stage. For more information visit www.pivoteast.com.