Kevin Nyango
On 16-18 July 2019, around twelve of Papua New Guinea’s best seed-stage startups will participate in a bootcamp and compete to represent the country at the global Seedstars Summit in Switzerland and win up to USD 500,000 in equity investments and other prizes. For its first time in the country, Seedstars Papua New Guinea 2019 will be held at the Holiday Inn and covered by our media partner Tech In Pacific.
TechInPacific – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Monday 8th of July – Seedstars World, the largest early-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, is coming to Papua New Guinea for the first time. With the support of GSMA and the Australian Government, Seedstars will be holding a dynamic 2 day training session as well as a pitching event from the 16th to the 18th of July.
The companies invited to the training session and to pitch at the Seedstars Port Moresby event must have raised less than USD 500,000 in funding and built a minimum viable product which Seedstars will help them improve to match the market needs and attract customers.
Besides representing Papua New Guinea at the Seedstars Asia Summit, the winner will get a chance to win an all-inclusive trip to Switzerland, to compete at the Seedstars Summit for the title of Seedstars Global Winner and up to USD 500,000 in equity investments and other prizes.
The applications are open until July 12th 2019 and startups are invited to apply here. After careful screening, the Seedstars team will shortlist the best seed-stage startups to participate in training and 1:1 mentoring sessions with regional and local mentors to solve the challenges they are facing. The startups will be introduced to a number of concepts such as the lean startup methodology to constantly listen to their target customers to reach product market fit and get ready to receive investments.
“At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. One of the most rewarding parts of our work is highlighting the talents and ecosystems that are not known for innovation, but that are brimming with potential and entrepreneurial spirit. We are very excited to go to Papua New Guinea and discover the startup that will represent the country at both the Asia Summit and in Switzerland!” says Rosie Keller, Regional Manager for Seedstars Asia.
In order to provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity and aiming to deliver the best possible event, Seedstars is closely working with GSMA and the Australian Government who are the main sponsors of the event.
Further support is provided by Emerging Classifieds Ventures (ECV), Tech In Pacific, PNG Entrepreneur Academy, TechLab, Yher and ICT Cluster.
ABOUT SEEDSTARS
“They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” – Mexican proverb
Seedstars is a Swiss-based private group of companies with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship. The groups’ activities cover over 80 emerging ecosystems through a variety of events such as the Seedstars World Competition, acceleration programs, physical hubs called Seedspace, venture capital investments and company building activities.
ABOUT SEEDSTARS WORLD COMPETITION
Seedstars World is the world’s largest startup competition in emerging markets. For the past six years, Seedstars Teams travel around for a 9-month world tour and scout for the best early-stage startups in 65+ countries, organizing 100+ events. One winner is selected to represent each country visited, and is invited to attend one of the 5 Regional Summits, reuniting all local winners of each region to network with regional investors, mentors and corporates. Local winners are also awarded the chance to represent their countries at the Seedstars Summit, the competition’s final happening in Switzerland, where startups compete for up to $500,000 in investment. The Seedstars Summit is the flagship event of Seedstars, filled with breakout sessions, panel discussions, specialized workshops and the best minds from emerging markets.
ABOUT GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
ABOUT THE PNG-AUSTRALIA PARTNERSHIP
Australia is partnering with Papua New Guinea to build a stronger, more diversified economy and a healthy and productive workforce. Investments are geared towards growth enablers, including health, education and governance. Australia is working with the private sector, the engine of economic growth, to leverage finance and expertise, address common development challenges, expand markets, and to support greater diversification and inclusiveness in the economy.
Australia is also supporting the future digital economy in Papua New Guinea through the delivery of a new high-speed telecommunications undersea cable from Australia to Port Moresby. This will increase the speed and reliability of internet connections, providing opportunity for growth and development.
Press Contact:
High-resolution photos, logos, as well as press information and interview options are available on demand.
CONTACT
Media Relations, Seedstars
Laura Eboa Songue
