9 startups from 4 countries battled for a spot in the International Final on the 21st of January at Get in the Ring Central and Southern Africa. In order to qualify for the Regional Final the startups won the National Finals in their country. The Regional Final was organized by the RealSuccess.net in the startup hotspot in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The selected startups had a full day program with workshops to help them prepare for the pitch in the evening. Besides pitch training there were activities to connect startups to resources by networking sessions with investors, VIPS, and interviews with media and TV.
The show started with battles in the lightweight category. The 5 national winners Onyeka Craft and Jewelry, Technical Basketball Academy, Amen Communication, Adfire Creative M3dia and Lark Fertilizers pitched for an audience of over 150 startup enthusiasts.
After the lightweight battles it was time to see the startups of the middleweight category battle against each other. Enigma Solutions, Stokvella, Tousca and NewTech Rail were the 4 startups that competed in front of the audience and jury members for the middleweight championship in Central and Southern Africa.
The panel of champions were asked to leave the room after the battles, to make the tough decision as to which startups would be crowned as winners. The champion judges: Salala Lesela (founder and owner of Jala Capital), Colleen Larsen (founder and owner of Business Engage), Etienne Louw (General Manager TomTom Africa) and Florence Musundwa (owner INWEGO) had a difficult deliberation to agree on which startups were to be the final winners.
In the end the champions announced the winners of Get in the Ring Central and Southern Africa. The app where anyone can create his or her own 3D illusions on completely flat art, Adfire Creative M3dia, is crowned as lightweight winner of the night. The South African company NewTech Rail is the middleweight winner. NewTech Rail developed a comprehensive technology for railway overhead infrastructure.
Both winners Adfire Creative M3dia and NewTech Rail received a hamper from Sage with branded merchandise and a 12 month subscription to Sage One Accounting and Sage One Payroll. Along with these amazing prizes the startups won tickets to Medellín to represent their region in the International Final of Get in the Ring. Click here for more information and tickets for the International Final!