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Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars World has opened applications for its Mozambique competition, which will see up to 10 companies pitch for the chance to represent the country at next year’s global final and compete for US$500,000 in equity investment.

Seedstars World announced recently it was extending the number of African countries involved in its latest edition, and will be returning to Mozambique on June 14. For the first time, the initiative will target entrepreneurs from across the country to ensure everyone in Mozambique gets a fair chance at competing, with applications open here.

Startups applying to compete at the Seedstars Maputo event need to be less than two years old, have raised less than US$500,000 in funding, and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction.

Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and develop profitable products for the global market, to support their regional businesses and growth. To provide local entrepreneurs with this opportunity local firm UX Information Technologies will represent the initiative for the third time.

“We are extremely proud to have been working with Seedstars for the past three years to develop the Mozambican ecosystem and ensure that the best and brightest from our country can compete at the world stage. Our entrepreneurs are becoming ever more bold and ambitious, and this is what’s needed to succeed,” said Frederico Silva, co-founder of UX Information Technologies and local ambassador for Seedstars World.

The startup that wins the competition will be invited to compete at the Seedstars Summit, which takes place annually in Switzerland. Mozambique was previously represented by BlackBox TV, which allows users to stream any content they wish using digital broadcast, with no need for an internet connection.

“We are extremely proud of all the startups that competed in the previous edition. BlackBox TV represented Mozambique well during the global summit and was nominated for the most innovative startup. But also runner up IzyShop, which managed to gain significant traction. We see clearly that the quality of entrepreneurs improves every year and that the ecosystem is growing due to so many committed partners. In addition, we are really seeing the ecosystem come together and more collaboration between the ecosystem players. We cannot wait to come back,” said Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars World.

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