This year’s edition of the >>venture>> award attracted over 350 applications, out of which the selection committee chose 52 finalists. Following the first round of pitches, the jury nominated 15 start-ups – three in each of the five pre-defined verticals. The teams will once more present their solutions to the Advisory Board members who will choose the grand prize winner. The Award Ceremony takes place on September 13, 2021.
The winners in their respective verticals are:
Retail and Consumer services
Boostbar AG – disrupts the €20bn unattended F&B market with a solution, which provides better and more sustainable breaks at lower cost than leading alternatives.
Bootle+ – a reusable, modular water bottle with adapters for producing sparkling water on the go and can be used for still water.
Jawsome SA –the first smart whitening kit with a unique design that will be connected to an app to track user’s progress and offer a tailor-made program.
Industrials and Engineering
Cowa Thermal Solutions – is developing compact thermal energy storages to boost renewables in buildings and thermal energy systems.
Infrascreen – develops an innovative nano-material used to increase the energy efficiency of agricultural greenhouses.
Naturloop – advocates for sustainable development through the production of natural biocomposites made from agricultural waste coupled with bio-based adhesives.
Health and Nutrition
Inanna Fertility – is revolutionizing in vitro fertilisations (IVF) by providing data-driven algorithms to fertility clinics, supporting all major steps of the IVF process. The solution will dramatically improve their success rates and help do more treatments.
Luya Foods – Combining traditional fermentation and modern technology, the startup transforms local, organic okara, a side stream from soymilk and tofu production into marinated, ready-to-cook slices, chunks and patties.
Pipra AG – standing for Pre-Interventional Preventive Risk Assessment, Pipra is developing an AI-based pre-operative test to assess patient’s risk of suffering from cognitive disorders after surgery.
ICT
Lumiphase – develops products that enable chips to interact using light in the most efficient way, facilitating sustainable growth of the information technology industry, and ultimately transforming computing, networking and sensing.
MapTiler –offers software platform for building digital maps. Companies and institutions can now integrate the technology and in-house-made street and satellite maps of the entire world into their products.
Nimagna – introduced TV broadcast-style visual experiences, augmented reality and automated multi-camera production to brings immersive video conferencing to every business, allowing a sense of presence during remote gatherings.
Finance and Insurance
Aisot – combines various real-time datasets – from markets and alternative sources to offer next level data and predictive analytics for better decision making in trading and investing.
Ignatica – offers a cloud-based B2B SaaS platform to Insurers and brokers, which allows them to launch new products faster, cheaper and tailored to their clients’ needs.
Lyyna – is a B2B2C distribution platform for single item insurance. Using their smartphone, customers can buy insurance for their newly purchased valuable items from established insurance companies easily and securely.
(Ritah Ayebare Nyakato)