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Ten East African startups have been named finalists of the Sankalp Africa Awards 2017, winning the chance to pitch to Intellecap’s exclusive network of investors.

The 10 finalists were chosen from among over 300 applications, and were selected based on their social impact, innovation, and potential to scale.

Nine of the list hail from Kenya, with one finalist representing Rwanda.

Agri-business proved the most represented sector in this year’s shortlisted finalists, with three startups active in this space: mechanisation hub for farmers AgriMech Africa; dairy genetics company Indicus; and agri-tech company iProcure – which uses business intelligence and data to support smallholder farmers.

One finalist is active in the wildlife conservation sector, Internet of Elephants, which leverages GPS data on animals to engage audiences worldwide through games for conservation awareness.

Student Finance Africa and Popote Payments were shortlisted in the fintech space. The first provides tuition loans for higher education to students across Africa; while the latter enables digitises payments and accounting for businesses.

The remaining three Kenyan candidates are Soko Watch, which is a distribution and e-commerce platform for consumer goods for companies;  AmTech – delivering customized software solutions to the agricultural, government, financial and hospitality sectors; and Ecozoom, which manufactures and distributes solar lighting systems and fuel efficient stoves.

The Rwandan finalist is Kasha Rwanda sells and delivers women’s health products, via a mobile platform.

The Awards form part of the Sankalp Africa Summit, hosted by Intellecap, which is set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from tomorrow (February 23 – 24).

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