AfricArena has selected 10 startups to attend and showcase at VivaTech, the “world’s rendezvous for startups and leaders”, which will take place from May 16 to 18 May 2019 in Paris.
The delegation comprises of AfricArena’s 2018 Open Innovation Challenge winners and African-based tech startups that have the potential to gain international traction.
Also, for the second time, a dedicated Afric@Tech section – showcasing 50 African startups from four key sectors. These are the 10 startups that AfricArena will be taking to VivaTech:
Aerobotics (South Africa)
Aerobotics was selected by Viva Technology 2018 for the challenge: “How AI can help generate a self-sustaining growth in the agritech industry?” Aerobotics uses aerial imagery from drones and satellites and machine learning algorithms for early problem detection on tree and wine farms to optimise crop performance for farmers.
Its cloud-based web application, Aeroview, provides farmers with insights, scout mapping and other tools to mitigate damage to tree and vine crops from pest and disease. The company is setting the standard for tree crop analytics globally.
DataProphet (South Africa)
DataProphet was selected by Vinci Energies in the AfricArena 2018 Tour for their AI-powered innovation in manufacturing. DataProphet’s OMNI provides solutions to critical manufacturing challenges, without significant changes to the manufacturing process. It is AI-enabled dynamic parameter optimisation for manufacturing.
Despite individual parameters being well within accepted tolerances, the complex interplay and intricate dependency among a large number of process parameters still result in increased manufacturing risk, i.e. defects and scrap. OMNI learns these complex relationships and their impact on quality and recommends the ideal set points.
FinChatBot (South Africa)
Winner of the AfricArena 2018 Tour Ecosystem Challenge for Johannesburg, South Africa. FinChatBot is developing AI-powered automated agents (Chatbots) that help financial services providers acquire and retain customers while reducing operational costs.
What FinChatBot is doing with financial services providers is mapping out the entire customer journey and the different touch points in order to improve on the user experience by replacing static onboarding pages with automated and conversational agents that are available 356 days a year.
Guardian Gabriel (South Africa)
Guarding Gabriel won at AfricArena 2017 and secured incubation with the French South African Tech (FSAT) Labs. Guardian Gabriel is a startup specialising in safety tech – providing a panic button that works with no connection to a smartphone.
HomeFarm (South Africa)
HomeFarm was selected by Viva Technology 2018 for the challenge: “How AI can help generate a self-sustaining growth in the agritech industry?” Homefarm is a smart, IoT, crop growing appliance. It allows users to effortlessly grow a variety of micro-greens from the comfort of their home all year round. Users can enjoy the numerous benefits of micro-greens, which are considered a super food, by incorporating them into their daily diet.
MedBit (Kenya)
Winner of the AfricArena 2018 Tour Ecosystem Challenge for Nairobi, Kenya. Medbit is a social enterprise that provides a means to book and pay for healthcare services on a smartphone or computer. By partnering with a diverse pool of accredited healthcare professionals and institutions, we provide a platform where citizens can search for, book and pay for doctors, specialists, facilities, healthcare services and institutionalized care in real time.
OniriQ (Senegal)
OniriQ was selected by Vinci Energies in the AfricArena 2018 Tour. The Challenge posed was, “How to make energy more accessible in Africa thanks to energy efficiency solutions, energy flows optimization blockchain and/or AI.”
OniriQ’s response to the challenge was this innovative concept: “OniriQ is designing and manufacturing the next generation of Solar Home Systems (SHS) for African populations living off-grid (600 million people). We provide families and small businesses with access to energy and access to digital contents (internet & IPTV), in Senegal and West-Africa. Our products are designed in France and made & recycled in Senegal.”
PayDunya (Senegal)
Winner of the AfricArena 2018 Tour Ecosystem Challenge for Dakar, Senegal. PayDunya is a global online payment service made for African consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments. One solution that allows customers to send and receive payments from mobile money wallets, credit cards, and cash.
Paydunya also allows users to get paid and sell online without the need for a website. PayDunya provides services that allow consumers anywhere in the world to receive and send online payments from throughout Africa to the rest of the world.
SeaMonster (South Africa)
SeaMonster is a Cape Town-based gaming company that was selected through 2018’s AirFrance-KLM Challenge. The challenge posed was: ”How technological innovations (AI, IOT, etc.) could enrich Joon’s customer journey?”
SeaMonster’s winning response to the challenge is explained as follows: “We will connect travelers to a virtual reality adventure while they fly with Joon. We would do this by creating a custom VR game that entertains passengers, allowing them to compete for rewards and discover their personal strengths. Passengers would play through a story where they have to solve various puzzles to unlock each stage.”
TravelBudds (Mauritius)
Winner of the AfricArena 2018 Tour Ecosystem Challenge for Mauritius. There is something that needs to be done on the travel market to simplify the life of Travelers. TravelBudds is the social network for young, connected travel lovers looking for the best ways to travel the world and share their experiences with their friends. The goal of Travelbudds is to cover all the micro-moments of the travel life cycle.
