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Kenyan startup Markit Opportunity has been crowned winner of the Barclays Africa Supply Chain Challenge, taking home the US$10,000 prize.

Disrupt Africa reported the Barclays Africa Supply Chain Challenge took place at Cape Town’s Bandwidth Barn yesterday, with five startups from across the continent pitching head-to-head before a panel of expert judges.

Kenya’s Markit Opportunity, represented by founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Ashley King-Bischof, was named winner, securing the US$10,000 prize.

Markit Opportunity incentivises regional trade by leveraging mobile technology and logistics to create trusted, transparent and efficient supply chains. The company provides a mobile platform that connects traders in urban markets to farmers with real-time supply and demand statistics, as well as market related pricing.

Nigerian entrepreneur Job Oyebisi, and his project Freshmart App for Provenance, also impressed the judges, such that a special prize of US$5,000 was awarded in addition to the first place prize.

The Freshmart App for Provenance will leverage the blockchain, enabling customers to track the provenance – the chronology of the ownership – of the produce they want to purchase.

“When it came to selection process, the very high calibre of submissions provided some testing conversations for the judging panel.  Today’s finalists are a great reflection of the rich vein of innovation emanating from the African continent,” says Ashley Veasey, chief information officer (CIO) at Barclays Africa and judging panel member.

In addition to their financial support both winners will receive mentorship from a Barclays Africa executive to help them kick-start their venture.

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